Fluid flow estimation through integration of physical flow configurations

The measurement of fluid flows is an emerging field for optical flow computation. In a number of such applications, a tracer is visualized with modern digital cameras. Due to the projective nature of the imaging process, the tracer is integrated across a velocity profile. In this contribution, a novel technique is presented that explicitly models brightness changes due to this integration. Only through this modeling is an accurate estimation of the flow velocities feasible. Apart from an accurate measurement of the fluid flow, also the underlying velocity profile can be reconstructed. Applications from shear flow, microfluidics and a biological applications are presented.