Dr. Theunis Botha | VDG | University of Pretoria

Camerabased measurements in terramechanics and offroad tyre research

The presentation will present camerabased measurement techniques developed at the University of Pretoria’s Vehicle Dynamics Group. The methods allow useful measurements to be obtained for vehicle research with the presentation focused on offroad terrain and vehicles.

Dr. Theunis Botha is a senior lecturer at the University of Pretoria and works in the Vehicle Dynamics Group (VDG). He obtained his Ph.D. in 2014 with his thesis entitled “Digital Image Correlation: Applications in Vehicle Dynamics” which focused on using camerabased measurements to obtain useful measurements in vehicle dynamics. His research focus is on camerabased measurements, control systems and state and parameter estimation with a focus on vehicle applications. In the field of terramechanics his research has studied the measurement of road profile and rut depths of deformable terrain using camera measurements. He has also developed measurement techniques that allow the measurement of tyre deformation and strain on the inside of tyres which aims to develop measurement techniques that can further aid the terramechanics research community.



The mission of the ISTVS is to advance the knowledge of terrainvehicle systems for improvements in engineering practice and for innovation. Since 1962.