SBIR Phase I: CLEAR-View - A Cost Effective Thermal Imaging Sensor

该小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段项目旨在设计、测试和实现一种用于基于微测辐射热计的非制冷热成像仪的基于场景的新型非均匀校正(SBNUC)算法。该方法依赖于利用场景中的伸缩运动，在视频序列中，通过安装在操作车辆前面的摄像机获取的图像中固有的伸缩运动，以动态方式代数地提取非均匀噪声参数，而不需要通常基于快门的校准。该技术提供了一种实时解决方案，在相机仍在为场景成像时，对汽车热像仪的非均匀性进行校正，而不会中断其操作。如果成功，这种方法将使另一种方法能够处理变化并降低热成像技术和其他成像技术的成本。目前，基于非晶硅和基于钒氧化物(VOX)的微测辐射热计-探测器技术的多样化受到成本、FPN性能和机械可靠性(如快门)的限制。拟议的方法将提供将非制冷成本效益微测辐射热计探测器应用于需要低成本、无快门的热成像仪的市场的能力。汽车业已经开始使用基于微测辐射热计的夜视系统来提高夜间驾驶的安全性。该项目还将对广泛的传感应用产生直接影响，包括轻型车辆或手持夜视系统、用于森林火灾探测的热成像相机和执法应用。

This Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to design, test and implement a novel scene-based nonuniformity correction (SBNUC) algorithm for use in microbolometer-based uncooled thermal imagers. The approach relies on exploiting telescopic motion in the scene, in a video sequence, inherent in imagery acquired by a camera that is mounted in the front of an operating vehicle, to algebraically extract the nonuniformity-noise parameters in a dynamic fashion, without the need for the usual shutter-based calibration. The technology offers a real-time solution to nonuniformity correction for thermal imagers in automobiles while the camera is still imaging the scene, without any disruption of its operation. If successful, this approach would enable an alternate method to process changes and to reduce the cost of thermal and other imager technologies.The diversification of both amorphous-Si based and vanadium oxide (VOx) based microbolometer-detector technologies is currently limited by cost, FPN performance, and mechanical reliability (e.g. shutter). The proposed approach will provide the ability to apply the uncooled cost-effective microbolometer detector to markets where there is a need for a low-cost, shutter-free thermal imagers. The auto industry has already started employing microbolometer-based night-vision systems to improve safety during night driving. This project will also have a direct impact on a broad spectrum of sensing applications including lightweight vehicle or handheld night-vision systems, thermal imaging cameras used in forest-fire detection, and law-enforcement applications.