Uncooled gas imaging camera
Various embodiments of the present disclosure may include an imaging system that includes a plurality of uncooled cameras configured to detect the presence of gas within a scene imaged. The plurality of cameras may include at least one broadband camera and at least one narrowband camera. The narrowband camera may include a filter or image data from the narrowband camera may be filtered to the band desired. The images captured by the broadband and narrowband cameras may be processed and/or analyzed to determine the presence of gas within the scene. An image may be generated incorporating the image data of the broadband and narrowband cameras and the presence of gas may be indicated within the image.
1. An apparatus comprising:
a first camera configured to acquire a plurality of first image frames of a scene in a broad wavelength band;
a second camera configured to acquire a plurality of second image frames of the scene in a narrow wavelength band substantially simultaneous with the first camera; and
a processing component communicatively connected to the first camera and the second camera and configured to perform a method comprising:
comparing the first image frames to determine a broadband difference,
comparing the second image frames to determine a narrowband difference,
determining a presence of a gas within the scene using the broadband difference and the narrowband difference, and
generating, with the first image frames and the second image frames, an image comprising a broadband representation of the scene and an indication of the presence of the gas.
2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the determining the presence of the gas within the scene comprises:
determining that the broadband difference exceeds a first threshold;
determining that the narrowband difference exceeds a second threshold;
determining that signs of the broadband difference and the narrowband difference are the same; and
determining that the narrowband difference is greater than the broadband difference.
3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein:
the comparing the first image frames comprises comparing corresponding pixels within the first image frames;
the comparing the second image frames comprises comparing corresponding pixels within the second image frames; and
wherein the first image frames and the second image frames are provided by the first and second cameras as first and second image data, respectively.
4. The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the method further comprises determining that the narrowband difference exceeds a third threshold to determine a concentration of the gas within the scene.
5. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein a first boresight of the first camera and a second boresight of the second camera are substantially aligned parallel to each other.
6. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the method further comprises performing image registration of the first image frames and the second image frames.
7. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the method further comprises performing, with the first image frames and/or the second image frames, an affine transform.
8. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein:
the method further comprises increasing a gain of the second camera to match a dynamic range of the second image frames to a dynamic range of the first image frames; and
the generating the image comprises using a difference between at least one of the first image frames and at least one of the second image frames.
9. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the narrow wavelength band includes a wavelength absorbed by the gas.
10. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the narrow wavelength band acquired by the second camera is a second camera narrow wavelength band and the apparatus further comprises a third camera configured to acquire a plurality of third image frames of the scene in a third camera narrow wavelength band substantially simultaneous with the first camera, wherein the generating comprises generating the image with the third image frames.
11. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the second camera narrow wavelength band includes a wavelength absorbed by the gas and the third camera narrow wavelength band is at least partially above or below the second camera narrow wavelength band.
12. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the second camera comprises a filter configured to filter at least the scene to the narrow wavelength band.
13. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first camera and/or the second camera are uncooled microbolometer based cameras.
14. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the gas presence indication is overlaid on the broadband representation of the scene.
15. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a mount coupled to the first camera and the second camera and configured to hold the first camera at a fixed distance from the second camera.
16. A method comprising:
acquiring first image frames of a scene in a broad wavelength band from a first camera;
acquiring second image frames of the scene in a narrow wavelength band from a second camera;
comparing the first image frames to determine a broadband difference;
comparing the second image frames to determine a narrowband difference;
determining a presence of a gas within the scene using the broadband difference and the narrowband difference; and
generating, with the first image frames and the second image frames, an image comprising a broadband representation of the scene and an indication of the presence of the gas.
17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the determining the presence of the gas within the scene comprises:
determining that the broadband difference exceeds a first threshold;
determining that the narrowband difference exceeds a second threshold;
determining that signs of the broadband difference and the narrowband difference are the same; and
determining that the narrowband difference is greater than the broadband difference.
18. The method of claim 16 , wherein:
the comparing the first image frames comprises comparing corresponding pixels within the first image frames;
the comparing the second image frames comprises comparing corresponding pixels within the second image frames; and
wherein the first image frames and the second image frames are provided by the first and second cameras as first and second image data, respectively.
19. The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the processing component is configured to apply one or more Boolean masks to:
determine that the broadband difference exceeds the first threshold;
determine that the narrowband difference exceeds the second threshold;
determine that signs of the broadband difference and the narrowband difference are the same;
determine that the narrowband difference is greater than the broadband difference; and/or
generate the image.
20. The method of claim 17 , comprising applying one or more Boolean masks to:
determine that the broadband difference exceeds the first threshold;
determine that the narrowband difference exceeds the second threshold;
determine that signs of the broadband difference and the narrowband difference are the same;
determine that the narrowband difference is greater than the broadband difference; and/or generate the image.