Thermal imager with large dynamic range and improved signal-to-noise ratio
First Claim
1. A system for producing thermal images with large dynamic range and high signal-to-noise ratio, the system comprising:
- a thermal imaging camera for capturing thermal images, each of the thermal images made up of a plurality of pixels and having a dynamic range;
a user interface; and
a processor for processing thermal images captured by the camera, the processor configured to;
analyze, pixel-by-pixel, a first thermal image captured by the thermal imaging camera, the first thermal image having a first dynamic range;
define a first set of pixels, the first set of pixels comprising pixels from the first thermal image that are not saturated or nearly saturated in the first dynamic range;
define a second set of pixels, the second set of pixels comprising pixels not in the first set of pixels; and
create a final thermal image, the final thermal image comprising the first set of pixels from the first thermal image and the second set of pixels from a second thermal image, the second thermal image having a second dynamic range with an upper limit higher than that of, and at least partially overlapping, the first dynamic range.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system for producing thermal images acquires at least first and second thermal images comprising a plurality of pixels and a first and second dynamic range, respectively. The second dynamic range is such that its upper limit is higher than that of the first, and at least partially overlaps the first. A final thermal image is created comprising pixels from the first thermal image that are not saturated or nearly saturated with respect to the first dynamic range, and pixels from the second thermal image that are saturated or nearly saturated with respect to the first dynamic range. The resulting final image generally comprises both a large dynamic range and high signal-to-noise ratio.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A system for producing thermal images with large dynamic range and high signal-to-noise ratio, the system comprising:
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a thermal imaging camera for capturing thermal images, each of the thermal images made up of a plurality of pixels and having a dynamic range; a user interface; and a processor for processing thermal images captured by the camera, the processor configured to; analyze, pixel-by-pixel, a first thermal image captured by the thermal imaging camera, the first thermal image having a first dynamic range; define a first set of pixels, the first set of pixels comprising pixels from the first thermal image that are not saturated or nearly saturated in the first dynamic range; define a second set of pixels, the second set of pixels comprising pixels not in the first set of pixels; and create a final thermal image, the final thermal image comprising the first set of pixels from the first thermal image and the second set of pixels from a second thermal image, the second thermal image having a second dynamic range with an upper limit higher than that of, and at least partially overlapping, the first dynamic range. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A non-transitory computer readable medium containing executable instructions causing one or more processors to perform a method of creating a final thermal image from at least a first and second thermal image of a scene, the method comprising:
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analyzing each pixel of the first thermal image; defining a first set of pixels, the first set comprising pixels of the first thermal image that are not saturated or nearly saturated with respect to the dynamic range of the first thermal image; defining a second set of pixels, the second set of pixels comprising pixels not in the first set of pixels; constructing a final thermal image comprising the first set of pixels from the first thermal image and the second set of pixels from the second thermal image. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A system for producing thermal images comprising:
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a thermal imaging camera for capturing a plurality of thermal images having nested dynamic ranges; and a processor for processing the plurality of thermal images captured by the thermal imaging camera, the processor configured to; analyze thermal data associated with a first pixel in a first thermal image, the first thermal image having the smallest dynamic range in the plurality of thermal images, and the first pixel having a first pixel coordinate in a first thermal image; compare the thermal data associated with the first pixel with the dynamic range of the first thermal image; and if the first pixel is not saturated or near saturated with respect to the dynamic range of the first thermal image, construct a final thermal image in which the thermal data associated with the first pixel is associated with the pixel having the first coordinate in the final thermal image. - View Dependent Claims (20)
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Specification