Thermal Sensor Calibration for Unmanned Aerial Systems Using an External Heated Shutter
Type
ArticleKAUST Department
Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering (BESE) DivisionEarth System Observation and Modelling
Environmental Science and Engineering Program
Water Desalination and Reuse Research Center (WDRC)
Date
2021-10-17Submitted Date
2021-08-18Permanent link to this record
http://hdl.handle.net/10754/672893
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Show full item recordAbstract
Uncooled thermal infrared sensors are increasingly being deployed on unmanned aerial systems (UAS) for agriculture, forestry, wildlife surveys, and surveillance. The acquisition of thermal data requires accurate and uniform testing of equipment to ensure precise temperature measurements. We modified an uncooled thermal infrared sensor, specifically designed for UAS remote sensing, with a proprietary external heated shutter as a calibration source. The performance of the modified thermal sensor and a standard thermal sensor (i.e., without a heated shutter) was compared under both field and temperature modulated laboratory conditions. During laboratory trials with a blackbody source at 35 °C over a 150 min testing period, the modified and unmodified thermal sensor produced temperature ranges of 34.3–35.6 °C and 33.5–36.4 °C, respectively. A laboratory experiment also included the simulation of flight conditions by introducing airflow over the thermal sensor at a rate of 4 m/s. With the blackbody source held at a constant temperature of 25 °C, the introduction of 2 min air flow resulted in a ’shock cooling’ event in both the modified and unmodified sensors, oscillating between 19–30 °C and -15–65 °C, respectively. Following the initial ‘shock cooling’ event, the modified and unmodified thermal sensor oscillated between 22–27 °C and 5–45 °C, respectively. During field trials conducted over a pine plantation, the modified thermal sensor also outperformed the unmodified sensor in a side-by-side comparison. We found that the use of a mounted heated shutter improved thermal measurements, producing more consistent accurate temperature data for thermal mapping projects.Citation
Virtue, J., Turner, D., Williams, G., Zeliadt, S., McCabe, M., & Lucieer, A. (2021). Thermal Sensor Calibration for Unmanned Aerial Systems Using an External Heated Shutter. Drones, 5(4), 119. doi:10.3390/drones5040119Sponsors
This research was funded from a UTAS Research Training Program (RTP) Stipend to J.V. This research was also supported by the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). The unmodified FPVR used was funded by the Australian Research Council (ARCFT130100692). The sensor calibration lab and blackbody source were funded by an ARC LIEF grant (LE180100118).Publisher
MDPI AGJournal
DronesAdditional Links
https://www.mdpi.com/2504-446X/5/4/119ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.3390/drones5040119
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