All-Weather Parachute Shape Scanner (PSS) based on Millimeter Wave Radar

The shape of a parachute changes during the deployment of the canopy due to control inputs by the paratrooper/guidance system and environmental effects. Current methods of measuring the shape of a parachute use wind tunnels or instrumented test chambers. These measurements are limited by blockage and scaling effects. Optical sensors (e.g. laser scanners, stereo cameras, or photogrammetry) are sensitive to sunlight and cannot measure the overall shapes of parachutes with more complicated structures, such as ram-air parachutes. Intelligent Automation, Inc. has teamed up with parachute experts/manufacturers and proposes to develop an all-weather three-dimensional Parachute Shape Scanner (PSS) based on the Millimeter Wave Radar technique. It can be used to measure the shape of a wide variety of parachutes during an airdrop. Using the same processing architecture and sensor hardware, airflow measurements can also be conducted. The proposed PSS can provide 3D point-cloud measurement of a parachute at the rate of 10Hz with an accuracy of 2cm for the fabric portion of the canopy and 4cm for all other components above the parachute attachment point. PSS is insensitive to interferences from sunlight, rain, fog, or cloud, and can be used in day and night time.