On the Analysis and Detection of Flames With an Asynchronous Spiking Image Sensor

We have investigated the capabilities of a custom asynchronous spiking image sensor operating in the Near Infrared band to study flame radiation emissions, monitor their transient activity, and detect their presence. Asynchronous sensors have inherent capabilities, i.e., good temporal resolution, high dynamic range, and low data redundancy. This makes them competitive against infrared (IR) cameras and CMOS frame-based NIR imagers. In this paper, we analyze, discuss, and compare the experimental data measured with our sensor against results obtained with conventional devices. A set of measurements have been taken to study the flame emission levels and their transient variations. Moreover, a flame detection algorithm, adapted to our sensor asynchronous outputs, has been developed. Results show that asynchronous spiking sensors have an excellent potential for flame analysis and monitoring.