Geometric and Radiometric Calibration of Video Infrared Imagers for Photogrammetric Applications

Buyuksalih, Gurcan (1997) Geometric and Radiometric Calibration of Video Infrared Imagers for Photogrammetric Applications. PhD thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

This thesis is concerned with the geometric and radiometric calibration of infrared imagers with a view to their use in close-range and airborne photogrammetric applications. From the geometric point of view, three quite different types of infrared imager can be distinguished - these comprise (i) the pyroelectric vidicon camera; (ii) the CCD camera based on the use of an areal array of solid-state detectors; and (iii) the thermal video frame scanner (TVFS). The special optics and the detector technologies that are used in these imagers to generate images in the middle and thermal bands of the infrared spectrum, together with the underlying video technology, are first reviewed and discussed in some detail with an emphasis on their fundamental geometric and radiometric characteristics and properties. On this basis, the design and construction of a special target plate has been undertaken that allows all these different types of imager to be calibrated both geometrically and radiometrically. After describing this target plate, the actual experiment set-up and procedures and the subsequent data processing and analysis are outlined, including the method devised and used for the automatic measurement of the positions of all the target crosses on the calibration plate employing image matching techniques. The results obtained from the successful calibration of a representative sample of CCD cameras and thermal video frame scanners are presented and discussed in detail. They provide much new and accurate information on the geometric characteristics of these types of infrared imager that will be invaluable to those undertaking photogrammetric measurements on the infrared images that are being acquired and used in military, medical, industrial and environmental applications. For the radiometric calibration of each imager, measurements of the grey level values were made over the whole of the image covering the target radiation source for a range of temperatures. Thus much original and valuable information on the radiometric characteristics of the imagers has been obtained from the work undertaken during this research project, more especially at lower operational temperatures. However the techniques used gave less good results at higher temperatures and these need to be modified if more useful results are to be obtained. Suggestions are made for the further development of the calibration technique, in particular for its use with low-resolution imagers such as the pyroelectric vidicon camera which have not been calibrated in this research project due to time and financial limitations.

• Item Type: Thesis (PhD)
• Qualification Level: Doctoral
• Additional Information: Adviser: G Petrie
• Keywords: Remote sensing, Computer science
• Date of Award: 1997
• Depositing User: Enlighten Team
• Unique ID: glathesis:1997-75223
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 19 Nov 2019 21:43
• Last Modified: 19 Nov 2019 21:43
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/75223