Abstract: A tribological debris analysis system includes a general purpose computer; and a tribological sensor system for generating data. The sensor system includes an optical flow cell a pump for pumping a fluid through the optical flow cell, a laser for illuminating the fluid flowing through the optical flow cell, and an imaging device for detecting any debris in the fluid illuminated by the laser. The imaging device sends the object information—in either the form of object elements or objection segments—representative of the debris to the general purpose computer for analysis. The general purpose computer classifies the debris according to size, any trends associated with the size of the debris, generating shape features of the imaged debris and identifying a type of object wear based upon the shape features.

Abstract: A tribological debris analysis system includes a general purpose computer; and a tribological sensor system for generating data. The sensor system includes an optical flow cell a pump for pumping a fluid through the optical flow cell, a laser for illuminating the fluid flowing through the optical flow cell, and an imaging device for detecting any debris in the fluid illuminated by the laser. The imaging device sends the object information—in either the form of object elements or objection segments—representative of the debris to the general purpose computer for analysis. The general purpose computer classifies the debris according to size, any trends associated with the size of the debris, generating shape features of the imaged debris and identifying a type of object wear based upon the shape features.

Abstract: An optical flow detection system is employed in conjunction with a target cuer system, which includes a sensor carried on a platform, for the purpose of either removing undesirable sensor motion or for the purpose of removing undesirable background motion so that targets may be more easily identified. The optical flow detection system includes an optical flow estimator which receives a plurality of pixels and generates therefrom an instantaneous pixel velocity value and a predicted pixel velocity value. The instantaneous pixel velocity values and predicted pixel velocity values are then manipulated to remove undesirable features included in the image sequence generated by the sensor. Methods for operating the optical flow detection system are also provided.