Evaluation of Thermal Imaging Cameras

Published

October 1, 2008

Author(s)

Francine K. Amon, Andrew J. Lock, Nelson P. Bryner, Joseph P. Rice, Howard Yoon

Abstract

Four thermal infrared cameras that were provided by Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) to NIST were each evaluated by the NIST Optical Technology Division (OTD) for three metrics: Noise-equivalent Temperature Difference (NETD), Minimum Detectable Temperature Difference (MDTD), and Relative Spectral Responsivity (RSR).These four cameras were also evaluated by NIST Fire Research Division using performance metrics and testing protocols which were developed specifically for evaluating thermal imaging cameras utilized by the fire fighter. The performance metrics for these tests were Field of View (FOV), Nonuniformity (NU), Spatial Resolution (SR), Effective Temperature Range (ETR), and Thermal Sensitivity (TS). The thermal imagers tested were considered to be black boxes in which a target was placed in the field of view and the resulting image that appeared on the thermal imager s display was captured by a high resolution visible camera and processed.

Citation

Report of Tests

Pub Type

Others

Keywords

Thermal Imaging Camera, Bureau of Industry and Security, NETD, MDTD, Effective Temperature Range, Thermal Sensitivity, Nonuniformity, Spatial Resolution

Citation

Amon, F. , Lock, A. , Bryner, N. , Rice, J. and Yoon, H. (2008), Evaluation of Thermal Imaging Cameras, Report of Tests (Accessed December 5, 2025)