Development of a test bench for the assessment of digital processing efficiency in thermal imaging systems

Antoine Grégoire; Nathalie Roy; Michel Dupuis; Simon Potvin; Karl-Alexandre Jahjah; Jean-Claude Bouchard; Anne Martel; Jean Lacoursière

doi:10.1117/12.2663475

14 June 2023 Development of a test bench for the assessment of digital processing efficiency in thermal imaging systems

Antoine Grégoire, Nathalie Roy, Michel Dupuis, Simon Potvin, Karl-Alexandre Jahjah, Jean-Claude Bouchard, Anne Martel, Jean Lacoursière

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 12533, Infrared Imaging Systems: Design, Analysis, Modeling, and Testing XXXIV; 125330U (2023) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2663475
Event: SPIE Defense + Commercial Sensing, 2023, Orlando, Florida, United States

Abstract

Modern thermal imaging systems are widely used because of their broad military and commercial application range. The performance of the first generations of thermal imagers was limited by resolution and thermal sensitivity. Brightness and contrast adjustments were also the crux of the image quality. From a military user perspective, the amount of details and the interpretation of a scene depends, among others, on the experience of the user and on the time available to complete those adjustments. Modern imagers now feature embedded digital processing that can automatically adjust the device parameters in order to optimize the image quality. With the combined improvements in microprocessor power and microfabrication processes, digital processing enhanced the thermal imagers’ performance until they eventually became limited by their ability to react to different operational scenarios. That brings the need for testing the reaction of digital processing in such operational scenarios. Meanwhile, there were no significant modification in testing methodologies and metrics used for the assessment of thermal imagers. In this paper, we present DRDC-Valcartier Research Centre’s efforts to develop a test bench to measure the efficiency of the digital processing embedded in thermal imagers. The purpose of the testing methodology is to provide reliable, repeatable and user-independent metrics. Outputs quantitatively highlight the impact of digital processing for various operational situations and allow the performance of devices to be compared.

Conference Presentation

Citation Download Citation

Antoine Grégoire, Nathalie Roy, Michel Dupuis, Simon Potvin, Karl-Alexandre Jahjah, Jean-Claude Bouchard, Anne Martel, and Jean Lacoursière "Development of a test bench for the assessment of digital processing efficiency in thermal imaging systems", Proc. SPIE 12533, Infrared Imaging Systems: Design, Analysis, Modeling, and Testing XXXIV, 125330U (14 June 2023); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2663475

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