it would be easier to just take photographs and then take measurements off them by loading em into DB, trying to create some kind of automated system with multiple cameras is going to get messy imo, you would certainly need more than a diode to do that, scanning pixels etc is gonna be the easy bit, I have seen software that is capable of making 3D models from 3/4 veiw snaps all on its own, corrects for perspective etc automaticaly, doing it with manual intervention is relativley simple, just load the image to the screen as a scaled sprite (depending what you intend) and store relative x,y positions for the cursor in an array for later use, v simple example (psuedocode without scaling ability)
dim point(2,1000)
load bitmap "pic.bmp",1
load image "pointer.bmp",1
index=1
repeat
repeat
point(1,index)=mouse x()
point(2,index)=mouse y()
sprite 1,mouse x(),mouse y(),1
until mouseclick()
inc index
repeat
point(1,index)=mouse x()
point(2,index)=mouse y()
sprite 1,mouse x(),mouse y(),1
until mouseclick()
line point(1,index),point(2,index),point(1,index-1),point(2,index-1)
inc index
until spacekey()
cls
for i=2 to index step 2
line point(1,i),point(2,i),point(1,i-1),point(2,i-1)
wait 50
next i
wait key
or something like that, fairly easy to expand on, using sprites would enable you to scale the image if you wanted to use more precision or stretch it for example (remember this is off the cuff, it might not work first try due to typos or logic errors etc).
Do parachute manufacturers have a refunds policy?
