GasSight: a portable gas imaging camera

MacGruer, Angus Grant (2026) GasSight: a portable gas imaging camera. PhD thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

Most gases do not absorb visible light, meaning they are invisible to the naked eye. Methane is one such invisible gas. According to NASA1 methane is the second most impactful greenhouse gas, but its short lifespan in the atmosphere means that reducing atmospheric methane could bring climate benefit on a geologically rapid timescale. Whilst natural sources of methane gas are common, much of the atmospheric methane is from anthropogenic sources, for example via its use in natural gas fuel. Leaks of methane along pipelines often occur, but are challenging to detect. Many optical techniques exist for the imaging and hence localisation of gas source, but each have various strengths and weaknesses in terms of detection sensitivity, detection range, ease of use and frame rate. In this thesis a video-rate gas imaging system is introduced that features a compact size, an infrared frame rate of around 15 fps, and a moderate detection range of up to 16 m. The system makes use of flood illumination at 1653 nm to probe an absorption line of methane, allowing a full scene to be investigated whilst maintaining eye-safety. The device was designed to be compact with a low mass of 3.15 kg, making it suitable as a drone payload for aerial pipeline surveillance. The research described throughout this thesis covers the work developing this prototype system based upon an earlier concept demonstrator, including the improvements made to performance and the successful drone mounted field trials. An improved further iteration of the system was designed to overcome the shortcomings of the prototype system, specifically in terms of sunlight rejection. The main benefit of this iterated system are its increased infrared frame rate of 100 fps, while maintaining comparable detection range and identical form factor. This thesis presents a gas imaging device that satisfies the need of close range detection, with portability and high frame rate. This device could work in tandem with lower frame rate systems capable of detection ranges exceeding 100 m in order to increase methane monitoring deployment worldwide and detect and reduce emissions.

• Item Type: Thesis (PhD)
• Qualification Level: Doctoral
• Subjects: Q Science > QC Physics
• Colleges/Schools: College of Science and Engineering > School of Physics and Astronomy
• Funder's Name: Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)
• Supervisor's Name: Padgett, Professor Miles and Gibson, Dr. Graham
• Date of Award: 2026
• Depositing User: Theses Team
• Unique ID: glathesis:2026-85795
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 06 Mar 2026 15:34
• Last Modified: 06 Mar 2026 15:34
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/85795

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