Object Recognition and Enhancement Using MWIR Thermography with Varying Emissivity and Temperature
An infrared (IR) camera is one of the common tools for taking images for thermography analysis in the medical field. In this research, object recognition using infrared images captured with a Middle Wave Infrared (MWIR) camera is studied. By using the InSb detector, the MWIR system used in this study operates in the 3-5 µm waveband, and it is suited for high-end research and development applications. To enhance the use of MWIR thermography in real-world applications, it is important to devise reliable image generation and processing techniques for MWIR images. An experimental study has been conducted to identify the capability of MWIR thermography in distinguishing an object (a human hand) from its background with varying emissivity and temperature levels [1]. It is observed that object recognition becomes difficult when the emissivity difference is within 0.01 under the temperature condition of within 1℃ for the object and the background. In this study, the typical histogram equalization approach is utilized to enhance blurry images from MWIR. Improvement of the MWIR images at closed emissivity and temperature levels with current edge enhancement methods for the object and the background is a challenge task, and is the subject for this research.
References
[1] Liao, M.,et al., Object Recognition using MWIR Thermography with Varying
Emissivity and Temperature Levels, Proceedings of the 20th International
Symposium on Transport Phenomena, University of Victoria, CANADA, 7- 10 July
2009, pp. 279-284.