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[Studies in Computational Intelligence 481] Artur Babiarz, Robert Bieda, Karol Jędrasiak, Aleksander Nawrat (auth.), Aleksander Nawrat, Zygmunt Kuś (eds.) - Vision Based Systemsfor UAV Applications (2013, Sprin

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Thermal Camera for Autonomous Mobile Platforms 99<br />

The applied <strong>in</strong>frared FPA has 640 by 480 s<strong>in</strong>gle IR detectors (bolometers) . An<br />

active bolometer is made of a silicone membrane covered by an IR absorber. A<br />

s<strong>in</strong>gle detector is a micro electro-mechanical structure. In such structure the detect<strong>in</strong>g<br />

element is physically (and thermally) <strong>in</strong>sulated from the rest of the components,<br />

<strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g FPA hous<strong>in</strong>g. The schematic construction of a s<strong>in</strong>gle detector <strong>in</strong><br />

microbolometer array is shown <strong>in</strong> Fig. 3.<br />

Fig. 4. Simplified diagram of a s<strong>in</strong>gle pixel read-out circuit<br />

Each <strong>in</strong>dividual bolometer is connected to a read-out circuit, which converts the<br />

resistance changes <strong>in</strong>to proportional electric signal (voltage). The resistance variations<br />

are caused by temperature change of an active bolometer, <strong>in</strong>troduced by total<br />

FPA temperature and <strong>in</strong>cident <strong>in</strong>frared radiation. The conversion of bolometer<br />

resistance <strong>in</strong>to voltage signal is performed <strong>in</strong> a circuit depicted <strong>in</strong> Fig. 4.<br />

Current-to-voltage converter is applied to obta<strong>in</strong> electric signal from <strong>in</strong>dividual<br />

bolometers. The charg<strong>in</strong>g current of <strong>in</strong>tegrator capacitance CINT is def<strong>in</strong>ed by the<br />

voltages VDET and VBUS and the resistances of a bolometer and MOSFET transistor.<br />

Integration time is set depend<strong>in</strong>g on actual frame rate. The portion of total bolometer<br />

resistance result<strong>in</strong>g from bolometer own temperature is also <strong>in</strong>cluded <strong>in</strong> the<br />

conversion process. To determ<strong>in</strong>e its value the “bl<strong>in</strong>d” bolometer is applied, covered<br />

from <strong>in</strong>cident radiation. Voltages GSK, GFID, VDET and VBUS that directly <strong>in</strong>fluence<br />

the output signal are shown <strong>in</strong> Fig. 4. The level of those voltages as well as<br />

precision and resolution of their sett<strong>in</strong>g determ<strong>in</strong>e the dynamic range and the quality<br />

of output image. As a result those voltages (values and noise levels) are strictly<br />

def<strong>in</strong>ed by a FPA manufacturer. Noise parameters of analogue supply<strong>in</strong>g voltages<br />

are particularly important and they are def<strong>in</strong>ed by manufacturer over specified<br />

frequency bands. Allowed values are presented a table 1.

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