- Author
- Amon, F. K. | Lock, A.
- Title
- Evaluation of Image Quality of Thermal Imagers Used by the Fire Service.
- Coporate
- National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD
- Report
- NIST TN 1630; NIST Technical Note 1630, February 2009, 32 p.
- Keywords
- thermal imaging | fire departments | fire fighters | evaluation | cameras | test methods | NFPA 1801 | temperature | thermal sensitivity | human beings | fire hazards | specifications | equations | uncertainty | surface temperature
- Identifiers
- general specifications of thermal imagers tested; Field Of View (FOV); performance metrics; horizontal and vertical FOV results; NU values for a range of set point temperatures; Spatial Resolution (SR); frequencies corresponding to the indices on the spatial resolution target; spatial resolution test results; Effective Temperature Range (ETR); Thermal Sensitivity (TS); list of coefficients
- Abstract
- This document reports on the test results of an evaluation of the image quality of thermal imaging cameras used by the fire service. The test methods used were consistent with the image quality test methods included in Draft National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1801 Standard on Thermal Imagers for the Fire Service. These tests measured the nonuniformity, spatial resolution, effective temperature range, and thermal sensitivity of fire service thermal imagers. Images used for these tests were collected using a high resolution visible camera focused on the thermal imager's display while the thermal imager viewed a variety of thermal targets. The laboratory test results were evaluated in terms of a multivariate model of human perception, which was based on tests conducted on firefighters viewing thermal images of representative scenes in which a fire hazard may be present.