piv-image-generator: An image generating software package for planar PIV and Optical Flow benchmarking

Abstract

We describe a generator of synthetic images of tracers in turbulent flows to benchmark Particle Image Velocimetry and Optical Flow algorithms. Generated flows include: uniform, shear flows, inviscid stagnation point flows, and decaying and Rankine vortices. Image control parameters include particle and illumination characteristics, noise level and image bit depth, among others. The software package is unique in the sense that image characteristics and error sources are fully parameterized and that it provides zero-uncertainty ground truth, a combination of features never before conjoined in synthetic particle image generators. Examples of application are included in the text.