  This study aims to leverage the relationship between fluid dynamic loading
and resulting structural deformation to infer the incident flow speed from
measurements of time-dependent structure kinematics. Wind tunnel studies are
performed on cantilevered cylinders and trees. Tip deflections of the
wind-loaded structures are captured in time series data, and a physical model
of the relationship between force and deflection is applied to calculate the
instantaneous wind speed normalized with respect to a known reference wind
speed. Wind speeds inferred from visual measurements showed consistent
agreement with ground truth anemometer measurements for different cylinder and
tree configurations. These results suggest an approach for non-intrusive,
quantitative flow velocimetry that eliminates the need to directly visualize or
instrument the flow itself.
