Color algorithm for flame exposure (CAFE)

Panoramic or aerial images can be acquired with some easiness and cover vast tracts of territory to be used in fire detection. The analysis of these images, in particular based on color and threshold indices, can be very interesting computationally when applied in real time systems and collected, for example, through drones or watchtowers. This paper presents a solution designated Color Algorithm for Flame Exposure (CAFE), which significantly improves an existing method (cf. Forest Fire Detection Index — FFDI) in flame detection, based on daylight images, in mixed Mediterranean landscape, containing vegetation, buildings, burning areas, land, etc. The CAFE approach, presented, adds a parameterizable transformation of the image into the Lab color space. This approach was tested in four distinct scenarios, significantly reducing false positives and maintaining an equivalent level of false negatives when compared to the FFDI approach.