Full-field 3D measurement using multi-camera digital image correlation system

•A non-contact, multi-camera deformation measuring system is established based on 3D DIC.•The proposed method will map all measured points to a world coordinate system without stitching.•A particular case of a four-camera system is built based on the methodology.

A novel non-contact, full-field, three dimensional, multi-camera (N cameras N=2, 3 ,…) Digital Image Correlation (DIC) measurement system is proposed in this work. In the proposed system, multiple cameras are calibrated as a single system. In this system, any two arbitrary cameras can be grouped into pairs, and each pair of cameras measures a part of a 3D object based on the fundamentals of triangulation. The measured data from different pairs of cameras can be mapped into a universal coordinate system based on the calibration data. A 3D contour of the object can be extracted. Further data, such as deformation, can be obtained based on the contour of the object at a different time. The methodology of the proposed system is introduced. Four synchronized Charged Couple Device (CCD) cameras are employed in the experimental setup, and the performance of the setup is tested in both static and dynamic cases to show the potential of the system.