FIEVel: A Fast InExpensive Velocimeter based on an optical mouse sensor

TL;DR

FIEVel is a low-cost, high-speed fluid velocimeter utilizing an optical mouse sensor to non-intrusively measure flow velocities up to 6.4 kHz, offering a practical alternative to traditional methods.

Contribution

This paper introduces FIEVel, a novel velocimeter based on an optical mouse sensor, providing high temporal resolution at a fraction of the cost of conventional devices.

Findings

FIEVel accurately measures flow velocities up to 6.4 kHz.

It demonstrates excellent agreement with Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV).

The device is validated across various flow conditions and illumination strategies.

Abstract

Fluid velocimetry is fundamental to a breadth of applications spanning academia and industry, however velocimetry at high temporal resolution is often prohibitively costly. Here, we introduce a Fast and InExpensive Velocimeter (FIEVel) based on an optical mouse sensor. At its core, the optical mouse sensor consists of a small pixel array that acquires image data at high rates, with onboard hardware to compute and output motion in two orthogonal axes directly. By adapting this widely available integrated circuit to fluid velocimetry, we demonstrate that FIEVel is capable of resolving two components of velocity non-intrusively in the bulk of a flowing fluid at rates up to 6.4 kHz, at orders of magnitude lower cost than traditional velocimetry devices. We demonstrate and validate the velocimeter across a range of flows, operating conditions, and illumination strategies. As a sample application, we measure the temporal spectrum of a grid-generated turbulent flow and show excellent agreement with traditional Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) using a high-speed camera.