Particle tracking velocimetry

3-D PTV yields a time series of instantaneous 3-component velocity vectors in the form of fluid element trajectories.

The ability to follow (track) a spatially dense set of individual particles for a sufficiently long period of time, and to perform statistical analysis of their properties, permits a Lagrangian description of the turbulent flow process.

There is no restriction on the light to be coherent or monochromatic; only its illuminance has to be sufficient for imaging the tracer particles in the observational volume.

Particles or tracers could be fluorescent, diffractive, tracked through as many consecutive frames as possible, and on as many cameras as possible to maximize positioning accuracy.

[citation needed] Further developments of the technique include real-time image processing using on-camera FPGA chip.