Consider a pod (about 50 ft long and 15 square feet wide) that levitates using air pressure that shoots through the bottom and travels through a tube that's at low air pressure (about 100 Pa). It travels using linear induction. If you're wondering, this problems comes from the hyperloop tube specification. The pod will be traveling anywhere from 0 to 800 MPH.
I need to measure the speed of the pod traveling through the tube at every point
Approaches I have considered:
- Using an accelerometer and integrating over time
- Using a pitot tube
I've heard that an accelerometer can be bad for measuring velocity because an error bias can propagate.
I heard that pitot tubes were used for airplanes, but I don't know if they're very accurate or work at the low air pressures I have.
What approach should I use to measure the speed of my pod?