Compressed data for temporal fringe analysis in interferometry

Temporal fringe pattern analysis is gaining prominence in interferometry; in particular for transient phenomena studies. This form of analysis, nevertheless, necessitates large data storage. Current compression schemes do not facilitate efficient data retrieval and may even result in important data loss. Here, we describe a novel compression scheme that does not result in crucial data loss and allows the efficient retrieval of data for temporal fringe analysis. In sample tests using digital speckle interferometry on fringe patterns of a plate and of a cantilever beam subjected to temporal phase and load evolution respectively, a compression ratio of 1.6 was achieved without filtering out any data from discontinuous and low fringe modulation spatial points. By eliminating 38% of the data from discontinuous and low fringe modulation spatial points, a very significant compression ratio of 2.4 was attained.