INFRARED AND VISIBLE-LIGHT IMAGE REGISTRATION
First Claim
1. A method of registering a visible-light image and an infrared image in a thermal imaging camera, comprising:
- receiving visible-light image data corresponding to a first view of a scene and infrared image data corresponding to a second view of the scene, the first view and the second view, and the corresponding visible-light image data and infrared image data, having a parallax error;
detecting a first feature set in the visible-light image data;
detecting a second feature set in the infrared image data;
generating a plurality of overlapping alignments of the infrared image data and the visible-light image data;
calculating a similarity figure for each overlapping alignment, the similarity figure being a function of the relative alignment of the first feature set and the second feature set;
selecting one of the overlapping alignments having a desired similarity figure;
aligning the visible-light image data and the infrared image data according to the selected overlapping alignment; and
displaying at least a portion of the visible-light image data and/or at least a portion of the infrared image data.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Methods and thermal imaging cameras are provided for registering visible-light and infrared images within a thermal imaging camera to reduce a parallax error in the images. Registration generally includes detecting a first feature set in the visible-light image data, detecting a second feature set in the infrared image data and generating a plurality of overlapping alignments of the infrared image data and the visible-light image data. A similarity figure is calculated as a function of the relative alignment of the first feature set and the second feature set for each alignment and the alignment with the desired similarity figure is selected. The images are aligned and the camera displays at least a portion of the visible-light image data and/or at least a portion of the infrared image data.
129 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method of registering a visible-light image and an infrared image in a thermal imaging camera, comprising:
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receiving visible-light image data corresponding to a first view of a scene and infrared image data corresponding to a second view of the scene, the first view and the second view, and the corresponding visible-light image data and infrared image data, having a parallax error; detecting a first feature set in the visible-light image data; detecting a second feature set in the infrared image data; generating a plurality of overlapping alignments of the infrared image data and the visible-light image data; calculating a similarity figure for each overlapping alignment, the similarity figure being a function of the relative alignment of the first feature set and the second feature set; selecting one of the overlapping alignments having a desired similarity figure; aligning the visible-light image data and the infrared image data according to the selected overlapping alignment; and displaying at least a portion of the visible-light image data and/or at least a portion of the infrared image data. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A thermal imaging camera, comprising:
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a visible-light camera module having a visible-light sensor for generating visible-light image data corresponding to a first view of a scene; an infrared camera module having an infrared sensor for generating infrared image data corresponding to a second view of the scene, the infrared sensor offset from the visible-light sensor such that the first view and the second view, and the corresponding visible-light image data and infrared image data, have a parallax error; a display for displaying at least a portion of the visible-light image data and/or at least a portion of the infrared image data; and a programmable processor coupled with the display and the infrared and visible-light camera modules, the processor programmed with instructions for registering the visible-light image data and the infrared image data, the registering comprising detecting a first feature set in the visible-light image data, detecting a second feature set in the infrared image data, generating a plurality of overlapping alignments of the infrared image data and the visible light image data, calculating a similarity figure for each overlapping alignment, the similarity figure being a function of the relative alignment of the first feature set and the second feature set, selecting one of the overlapping alignments having a desired similarity figure, and aligning the visible-light image data and the infrared image data according to the selected overlapping alignment. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A thermal imaging camera, comprising:
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a visible-light camera module for generating visible-light image data corresponding to a first view of a scene; an infrared camera module for generating infrared image data corresponding to a second view of the scene, the infrared camera module offset from the visible-light camera module such that the first view and the second view, and the corresponding visible-light image data and infrared image data, have a parallax error; a display for displaying at least a portion of the visible-light image data and/or at least a portion of the infrared image data; a manual adjustment mechanism for reducing the parallax error; and a programmable processor coupled with the display and the infrared and visible-light camera modules, the processor programmed with instructions for registering the visible-light image data and the infrared image data, the registering comprising detecting a first feature set in the visible-light image data, detecting a second feature set in the infrared image data, generating a plurality of overlapping alignments of the infrared image data and the visible light image data, calculating a similarity figure for each overlapping alignment, the similarity figure being a function of the relative alignment of the first feature set and the second feature set, selecting one of the plurality of overlapping alignments having a desired similarity figure, and aligning the visible-light image data and the infrared image data according to the selected overlapping alignment. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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Specification