Abstract

Accurate non-contact velocity measurement of a moving surface is an important quantity in online manufacturing. We have investigated a system employing the principle of Laser Time-of-flight Velocimetry (LTV) to measure the velocity of moving solid surfaces (Fig. 1). The LTV system is based on determining the time it takes for a scattering element to travel from one illuminated region to another. The spacing between the two regions is known and the estimated velocity along the direction connecting the two spots is then simply given by the ratio of the spacing to the measured time-of-flight¹. The time-of-flight is measured by a correlation scheme.

© 1996 Optical Society of America