Stemmer Imaging has won the award for the ‘Most Innovative Vision Project’ at the PPMA (Processing and Packaging Machinery Association) Group Awards. The winning project was for the supply and integration of 25 cameras on the Bloodhound Supersonic Car.
The Bloodhound Project is a British endeavor to inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers by showcasing these subjects in the most exciting way possible, by building a jet and rocket powered vehicle capable of reaching 1000 mph, for a new world land speed record attempt. 25 cameras are located at strategic points on the car. Forward facing cameras must deliver live streamed video for broadcast purposes, while rear-facing cameras look at the output from the rocket and jet engine exhausts. Other cameras monitor critical engineering parameters such as the wheel-ground interface. In-cockpit cameras monitor controls and driver actions.
Imaging at 1000 mph, faster than a gun
Bloodhound SSC will travel faster than a bullet fired from a Magnum .357 gun, covering the length of four and a half football pitches in just 1 second. Video data must be acquired from the cameras at HD resolution and managed through an Ethernet data communication bus. The vision system provides performance data during test runs for the vehicle as well as the world record attempt. Every frame from each camera must be recorded and time stamped so that individual frames can be related back to specific control events and linked with the engine management system. In addition video has to be compressed in real time for streaming. Reliable live video transmission has to be achievable at speeds up to Bloodhound’s target of 1000 mph.
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