canopy penetration

[beezer2711]

Has anyone found a particular camera or sensor that can see thru the trees? It almost seems point less to try and search for someone in a wooded area because the leaves obscure/block almost everything. Also to make one thing clear, I don't usually look for people who want to be found or realize they are missing. We are utilizing Inspire 1 with Camera (x5?) and FLIR most of the time.

 

[TreeLineView]

What sensor are you using on the Inspire currently. There is no thermal that can see through trees. Thermal sensors measure inbound thermal radiation and set a temp value on the pixel to render an image we can see. The greater the delta between your background and the target, the more likely you will pickup an anomaly. Also, the palette choice you are using is also very important for Search and Rescue. Most common is white hot, black how. If you are using isotherms, it is very easy to miss a target. Do you have any video you can share to show an example of not being able to see through the canopy?

 

[BigAl07]

Has anyone found a particular camera or sensor that can see thru the trees? It almost seems point less to try and search for someone in a wooded area because the leaves obscure/block almost everything. Also to make one thing clear, I don't usually look for people who want to be found or realize they are missing. We are utilizing Inspire 1 with Camera (x5?) and FLIR most of the time.

IR Cameras are blocked by a lot less than just the tree canopy. A very thin film of water will completely "blind" an IR camera let alone leaves, limbs, and such.

If the heat of the object can't get through the "obstacle" then the IR camera is blind and this goes for even the very high end units in use by our Govt. It's the nature of the beast.

 

[R Martin]

Has anyone found a particular camera or sensor that can see thru the trees? It almost seems point less to try and search for someone in a wooded area because the leaves obscure/block almost everything. Also to make one thing clear, I don't usually look for people who want to be found or realize they are missing. We are utilizing Inspire 1 with Camera (x5?) and FLIR most of the time.

The best sensor that fits this description is LIDAR and even then, I am not sure how effective it would be in this type of application. That, and a decent LIDAR unit is still in the 10sK+ price range. And if that is not a barrier, you are going to need a very beefy workstation to process the thousands of points per second that thing collects....it is not really a "real-time" sensor.

 

[Outta Control]

What sensor are you using on the Inspire currently. There is no thermal that can see through trees. Thermal sensors measure inbound thermal radiation and set a temp value on the pixel to render an image we can see. The greater the delta between your background and the target, the more likely you will pickup an anomaly. Also, the palette choice you are using is also very important for Search and Rescue. Most common is white hot, black how. If you are using isotherms, it is very easy to miss a target. Do you have any video you can share to show an example of not being able to see through the canopy?

Nice job TreeLine.

 

[TreeLineView]

Thanks, I learned from the best

 

[Outta Control]

Thanks, I learned from the best

I can only be a student.