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Thermal Infrared Remote Sensing pp 69–92Cite as

Challenges and Opportunities for UAV-Borne Thermal Imaging

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Part of the book series: Remote Sensing and Digital Image Processing ((RDIP,volume 17))

Abstract

UAV-borne thermal imaging involves the determination of ground surface temperature from thermal infrared measurements deploying an unmanned airborne vehicle (UAV). A large variety of UAVs is available and applied for different military and civil tasks. UAV-borne thermal imaging provides spatially distributed information of the ground surface temperature. In contrast to satellite or ground based measurement, the usage of a UAV allows us to obtain spatially distributed and geometrically highly resolved information on the ground surface temperature without the need to access the ground. The area can be flat or hilly, and steep walls and hillsides can be investigated easily. However, some problems, especially tasks related to mosaicking of the images, are not fully resolved to date. We address the detection of the anomalies in ground surface temperature induced by underground burning coal seams as example and describe the challenges and opportunities of UAV-borne thermal imaging, based on our experiences in this field.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Ascending Technologies is recently (11/2011) working on changing the connection via cable to a wireless connection, e.g. via Bluetooth.

  2. 2.

    The t90 time is defined as the time it takes for the sensor to get 90 % of the final reading.

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Acknowledgements

The presented results were gained within the framework of the Sino-German research initiative “Innovative technologies for exploration, extinction and monitoring of coal fires in Northern China” funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, BMBF, Germany.

The authors would like to thank the Chinese and German partners in particular for their help during the field campaign. Many thanks go to Christian Fischer and Christoph Ehrler for providing the satellite data and to Stefan Schlömer for sharing the ground based temperature measurements. The comments of the reviewers and Elisabeth Ullmann were much appreciated and have improved the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sub-Department B4.3 – Central Seismological Observatory, Nuclear Test Ban, Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR), Hannover, Germany

    Margarete Vasterling

  2. Sub-Department B2.1 – Geophysical Exploration – Technical Mineralogy, Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR), Hannover, Germany

    Uwe Meyer

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  1. Margarete Vasterling
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  2. Uwe Meyer
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Correspondence to Margarete Vasterling .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Earth Observation Center, EOC, German Aerospace Center, DLR, Oberpfaffenhofen, Wessling, 82234, Germany

    Claudia Kuenzer

  2. , Earth Observation Center, EOC, German Aerospace Center, DLR, Oberpfaffenhofen, Wessling, 82234, Germany

    Stefan Dech

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Vasterling, M., Meyer, U. (2013). Challenges and Opportunities for UAV-Borne Thermal Imaging. In: Kuenzer, C., Dech, S. (eds) Thermal Infrared Remote Sensing. Remote Sensing and Digital Image Processing, vol 17. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6639-6_4

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