3D model assisted fully automated scanning laser Doppler vibrometer measurements

•A new fully automatic scanning methodology for measuring vibrations is proposed.•The methodology uses a 3D camera and a 3D CAD-file in combination with a scanning laser Doppler vibrometer.•3D pose estimation techniques are used to find a predefined sample-object and automatically select sample points.

In this paper, a new fully automated scanning laser Doppler vibrometer (LDV) measurement technique is presented. In contrast to existing scanning LDV techniques which use a 2D camera for the manual selection of sample points, we use a 3D Time-of-Flight camera in combination with a CAD file of the test object to automatically obtain measurements at pre-defined locations. The proposed procedure allows users to test prototypes in a shorter time because physical measurement locations are determined without user interaction. Another benefit from this methodology is that it incorporates automatic mapping between a CAD model and the vibration measurements. This mapping can be used to visualize measurements directly on a 3D CAD model. The proposed method is illustrated with vibration measurements of an unmanned aerial vehicle