Advances in Thermal Imaging Technology in the First Responder Arena

Published

February 19, 2017

Author(s)

Francine K. Amon, Nelson P. Bryner

Abstract

The Building and Fire Research Laboratory (BFRL) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has been conducting research that will provide a quantifiable physical and scientific basis upon which industry standards for imaging performance, testing protocols and reporting practices can be developed. To date, the components of this project have included full-scale fire testing, development of a bench-scale testing facility, computational fluid dynamics and radiation modeling, and performance metric evaluations. Performance metrics for thermal and spatial resolution have been explored, with emphasis on the contrast transfer function (CTF) and noise equivalent temperature difference (NETD). These performance metrics and associated test methods are currently being applied to conditions that simulate first responder scenarios. A workshop was held in which participants representing thermal imager users, manufacturers, researchers, government agencies, and standards developing organizations discussed the future of thermal imaging technology as it applies to first responders. The results of this workshop showed that training and certification for thermal imager users, research on appropriate testing conditions, sensitivity metrics and human factors, and the establishment of imaging performance standards are important factors to the advancement of thermal imaging technology for this application.

Proceedings Title

Proceedings| |The International Society for Optical Engineering, Defense and Security Symposium| |2006

Conference Dates

April 17-21, 2006

Conference Location

Undefined

Conference Title

SPIE Defense and Security Symposium

Pub Type

Conferences

Keywords

CTF, first responder, infrared camera, NETD, performance metrics

Citation

Amon, F. and Bryner, N. (2017), Advances in Thermal Imaging Technology in the First Responder Arena, Proceedings| |The International Society for Optical Engineering, Defense and Security Symposium| |2006, Undefined (Accessed April 23, 2024)