RU2809472C1 - Mobile thermal imaging complex - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: radio-electronic devices.

SUBSTANCE: invention relates to a system for monitoring ground and/or surface conditions with the ability to be used for round-the-clock detection and observation of living objects or objects that differ in temperature from the environment. Essence: the claimed mobile thermal imaging complex, the body of which is rotatable, containing a thermal imager, a laser range finder or backlight and a video camera, information from which is transmitted to the operator’s monitor, according to the invention additionally contains a non-rotating platform, along the perimeter of which more than two thermal imagers are installed with the ability to display information on the monitor operator and viewing as a panoramic image.

EFFECT: increasing the speed of detection and recognition of objects without loss of information.

1 cl, 1 dwg

Description

The invention relates to radio-electronic devices and is a system for monitoring ground and/or surface conditions with the possibility of being used for round-the-clock detection and observation of living objects or objects that differ in temperature from the environment and can be used in military equipment, security systems, search and rescue operations , in the police, in environmental protection activities, as well as in other areas of human activity.

A thermal imaging complex (optical-electronic module) is known, containing a housing in which a thermal imager and a color video camera are located, containing an optical system and a rotating platform, with the housing mounted on a rotary support device capable of rotating 360°.

(RF Patent No. 2427006, IPC G01S 17/66, published 08/20/2011, Bulletin No. 23).

The disadvantage of this complex is the lack of mobility with a low speed of detection and recognition of objects, due to the fact that this directly depends on the mechanical (in manual mode) work of the operator, who, using the control panel, manually rotates the device in a circle 360°.

A mobile thermal imaging complex with a rotating body is known, containing a thermal imager, a laser rangefinder, laser or LED illumination and a video camera.

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The disadvantage of this device is the low speed of detection and recognition of objects, due to the fact that this directly depends on the mechanical work of the operator, who, using the control panel, manually rotates the device in a circle 360°. In addition, when using the complex, for example, on a moving car, a large area of terrain falls out of the “operator’s field of view,” which leads to loss of visualization of potentially searched objects or objects that suddenly appear in invisible zones.

A complex gyro-stabilized surveillance system is also known, containing an optical-electronic unit having a fixed base for mounting on a movable carrier and a movable part, wherein the movable part is made in the form of a gyro-stabilized platform on which a laser rangefinder, a daytime television camera with a vari-lens, an active-pulse a television camera based on a photoreceiving module and/or a thermal imager with a vari-lens lens; an integrated inertial-satellite navigation system is installed on the fixed base of the optical-electronic unit, and this base itself is equipped with connectors for a fiber-optic cable.

(RF Patent for PM No. 155170, IPC IPC G01S 23/00, published 09/27/2015, Bulletin No. 27).

The disadvantage of this device is also the low speed of object detection and recognition.

The objective of the invention is to create a mobile thermal imaging complex that makes it possible to obtain information about the detection and recognition of objects during observation in “real time” and a simultaneous 360° view, without losing information about the possible presence of objects in the operator’s invisible zones.

The technical result is to increase the speed of detection and recognition of objects without loss of information.

This is achieved by the fact that in the inventive mobile thermal imaging complex, the body of which is rotatable, containing a thermal imager, a laser rangefinder or backlight and a video camera, information from which is transmitted to the operator’s monitor, according to the invention, additionally contains a non-rotating platform, along the perimeter of which more than two thermal imagers with the ability to display information on the operator’s monitor and view it in the form of a panoramic image.

The presence of more than two thermal imager lenses on a non-rotating platform allows you to survey the area and receive information about the detection and recognition of objects during observation in “real time” mode simultaneously at 360°, which will not make it possible to miss the object of observation when the entire panorama is visible, but also makes the operator’s work comfortable minimizing its mechanical actions.

The inventive mobile thermal imaging system is shown in Fig. 1, where: 1 - body; 2 - rangefinder / backlight; 3 - thermal imager; 4 - camera; 5 - fixed platform; 6 - additional thermal imagers.

The housing 1 is made to allow rotation in azimuth - in a circle, that is, 360°. Housing 1 contains a rangefinder 2 or an infrared illuminator; thermal imager 3 with a zoom lens for detecting and recognizing objects and video camera 4 day/night with a zoom lens.

On the front panel of the housing 1 there is a thermal imager lens 3 and a video camera lens 4. These devices themselves are located inside the housing of the mentioned block. Housing 1 has a base (not shown in the drawing) for attaching it to external surfaces. In particular, for installation on the roof of a car, the base has a magnet or magnets of high induction.

The rotary device can be controlled from a joystick control panel, laptop, smartphone or tablet.

Additionally, housing 1 has a non-rotating platform 5, in which additional thermal imagers 6 in an amount of > 2 are installed around the perimeter for continuous all-round visibility.

Rotation in the azimuthal plane is carried out by mechanical control by the operator using the control panel of the mobile thermal imaging complex.

The mobile thermal imaging complex includes a set of software that allows for digital stabilization of thermal and video images. This mode allows you to maintain a stable image on the monitor screen during vibrations that occur, for example, when driving a car on an uneven surface. The software also allows you to control the position of the optical axes of the thermal imager and video camera, allowing you to direct their field of view to the required point in space. In addition, when working with a video camera or thermal imager, it allows you to create and display panoramic images on the monitor screen, which can then be used as auxiliary information.

The software of the mobile thermal imaging complex allows for a combination of the following operating modes:

- control in manual mode using standard computer controls (keyboard, Mouse, track-ball, joystick);

- mode of automated creation of panoramic images from each thermal imager and camera;

- mode of working with images from each information transmission device separately, including the “zoom in / out” mode;

- programmatic scanning mode of the area along trajectories pre-set by the operator;

- mode of automatic or manual documentation of the situation in the form of recordings of single still frames or continuous videos;

- mode for adjusting the thermal imager to the temperature characteristics of the observed area;

- mode of automatic tracking of moving objects via video image.

In the description of the device we will not consider the optical design, since it does not relate to the subject of the invention.

The mobile thermal imaging complex operates autonomously when connected to processor units (computers) that have analogue to digital video signal conversion devices at the input. Also, the mobile thermal imaging complex operates using WiFi and 3G/4G/5G wireless communications, which allows you to rotate the rotary device, review and view video on an on-board monitor, laptop or smartphone with a pre-installed application.

Description of the operation of the proposed mobile thermal imaging complex.

To ensure maximum efficiency of use, the mobile thermal imaging complex is installed at a height, as a result of which the overview becomes more extensive, especially in rough terrain. In a particular case of use, this could be the roof of a car, on which the inventive complex is installed using high-induction magnets attached to the base of the body.

When connected, the mobile thermal imaging system is switched on by default in the thermal imager operating mode. To switch to the video camera mode, you must activate this function. Using a manipulator, the operator controls the rotation of the mobile thermal imaging complex, as a result of which he directs the video camera 4 or thermal imager 3 in the azimuthal plane in the selected direction, observing the video or thermal images on the monitor screen.

Current video information from additional thermal imagers 6 in real time is also transmitted and simultaneously displayed on the monitor screen, giving the operator the ability to control the situation by observing and analyzing all received images. At the operator's command, it is possible to switch the image from the video camera 4 to the monitor, or the image from the thermal imager 3 to the monitor. Also, information from additional thermal imagers 6 can be viewed in the form of a panoramic image. In this case, the operator has the opportunity to more likely detect and identify the desired objects. When identifying an object to be tracked by additional thermal imagers 6, the operator switches to thermal imager 3 or camera 4 and, using the “zoom in / out” mode, can identify the object, as well as using range finder 2 to determine the distance.

Compliance of the proposed technical solution with the criterion of “significant differences” is determined by the fact that, thanks to the features that distinguish the proposed device from its prototype, the device has new properties: high speed of detection and recognition of objects without loss of information.

These properties, which determine the achievement of the technical result of the invention, are absent in all known devices for a similar purpose and determine the advantages of the proposed technical solution in relation to the prototype.

An example of the use of the proposed mobile thermal imaging system.

The claimed mobile thermal imaging system was used in a search and rescue operation in the Moscow region.

The complex was installed on the roof of the car and included: a color video camera with the ability to “zoom in/out”, a main thermal imaging eyepiece with a highly sensitive VOx detector with a resolution of 640x512 pixels and a 3x 75mm zoom lens, infrared illumination making it possible to see in complete darkness with a range of 500 meters.

Four additional thermal imagers are located on a fixed platform at an equal distance from each other. All objects that are warmer in temperature from the environment coming from thermal imagers were displayed on the monitor of the operator’s control panel. As the vehicle moved, the operator, without making any effort, with the help of four thermal imagers observed on the control panel screen monitor in a 360° panoramic view of the entire territory.

Example 1.

Information was received about a man who went into the forest to pick mushrooms in the morning and did not return after dark. The search area was determined. Also, with the proposed mobile thermal imaging system installed on the roof of a car, an area in a forest area of 5 km by 5 km was examined. Additional thermal imagers were activated, located on a fixed platform with a panoramic view function on the monitor. When identifying an “object,” the operator switched to the main thermal imager and zoomed in on the image to identify the search object. After 1.5 hours of search activities, the person lost in the forest was found.

Thus, the proposed mobile thermal imaging complex has great potential for detecting and recognizing objects without loss of information due to the presence of additional thermal imagers.

Claims (1)

A mobile thermal imaging complex, the body of which is rotatable, containing a thermal imager, a laser range finder or illumination and a video camera, information from which is transmitted to the operator’s monitor, and a fixed platform, characterized in that more than two thermal imagers are installed along the perimeter of the fixed platform with the ability to display information on the operator’s monitor and viewing in the form of a panoramic image, while the thermal imager, located in a mobile housing, is equipped with a zoom lens with the ability to transmit the image and display it on the monitor screen in zoom-in/out mode simultaneously with video information from thermal imagers located along the perimeter of the fixed platform in real time.

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