3-D computer vision in experimental mechanics

Optical methods that give displacement or strain fields are now widely used in experimental mechanics. Some of the methods can only measure in-plane displacements/strains on planar specimens and some of them can give both in-plane and out-of-plane displacement/strain fields on any kind of specimen (planar or not). In the present paper, the stereovision technique that uses two cameras to measure 3-D displacement/strain fields on any 3-D object is presented. Additionally, a quite inclusive list of references on applications of stereovision (and 3-D DIC) to experimental mechanics is given at the end of the paper. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.