Finally on the market: Homogeneous stitching for thermal mapping
TeAx Technology, an innovative drone tech company focusing also on thermal drone solutions, is now providing a smart way of stitching thermal images. Why this has been an issue so far – explained and made transparent in the following.
The problem: Shutter events to perform flat-field-correction (FFC event)
“When it comes down to thermal imaging, people often use the term “FFC event” or “shutter event”. They refer back to the so called “flat-field-correction” (FFC) process, a process to re-calibrate a thermal core while using it.”, Stefan Thamke, CEO of TeAx Technology, explains. And he continues, “This method is extremely helpful to make sure, thermal data remain within a defined range of temperatures”.
As useful as the FFC event is, it also provides a challenge for all, who aim for accurate thermal mapping – without temperature changes due to shutter / FFC event, which partly leads to wrong results. For all, who want and have to achieve homogeneous stitching results for thermal mapping, TeAx Technology now offers the solution for that.
The solution: Right hardware and right post-processing
“We at TeAx Technology received so many requests from clients all over the world, facing unprecise thermal maps after they have been stitching raw thermal data”, Stefan Thamke, recaps. “For us, being dedicated to optimal results, that simply was in-acceptable and we therefore came up with our solution approach. It is good to see that clients now do have a way of creating thermal maps without any false temperature jumps” Thamke continued.
And in fact, TeAx’s solution “ThermalCapture 2.0” (based on a Tau 2 core) automatically detects FFC events while it is recording the radiometric data stream to a microSD card. It also measures the internal temperature of the camera at the same time. With both temperature information, an automated adjustment of the stored temperature within the post-processing is being performed.
Also, the collected thermal data is automatically stored and prepared by TeAx’s ThermalCapture 2.0 in a way that 3rd party mapping tools, such as Pix4D (www.pix4d.com), Agisoft (www.agisoft.com) or others, can process the thermal, geo-referenced data just seamlessly and convert them into required (thermal) maps or other required models.
More videos on our youtube channel.
“This is the base for homogeneous stitching for thermal mapping as there are no longer any “jumps” of temperatures. We as TeAx Technology are very happy that there finally is a solution available and already a few clients came back to us and stated great success using our method.”, Thamke says.
Thermal Mapping as a service – Use TeAx Technology
TeAx Technology proofed itself as a reliable partner and holds strong knowledge in the field of thermal imaging technology. Furthermore and quite obviously, TeAx also created a very strong knowledge and experience when it comes down to thermal mapping.
Let TeAx help you to process your thermal data in the right way and to finally create optimal results. With TeAx processing your thermal data, you can receive results, e.g:
- Undistorted images
- Point Clouds
- Digital Surface Models
- Orthomosaics
- Index Maps
- 3D Textured Meshes
- Video animations
- Other
Video animation of thermal map.
The workflow is as simple as writing an email: Just provide TeAx with either a .TMC-file (these are recordings from ThermalCapture) or a file, provided by Vue Pro R (note: no correction for FFC shutter event possible!) and send them by email or use our FTP server to upload. Just contact us for further information.
TeAx supports its clients in the whole process chain:
- Preparation on how to record thermal data with your own drone system
- How to ideally perform on the flight (route, overlap settings, other useful configurations and settings)
- Data processing, data visualization
- Assessment and analyses of the (stitched) thermal data
- Feedback on potential improvements
Contact us today, if you have any further questions on this by using our contact form on this website. Thank you.
About TeAx Technology – A Leading Edge System Integration High-Tech Company
TeAx Technology provides application specific solutions in hardware and software. Expertise are embedded systems and remote sensing. The focus is on development and integration of special payloads for (commercial, professional) drones. For general development and projects on integration to PC software and embedded systems, TeAx Technology convinces through customized solutions and individual advice.