Algorithm for LWIR Thermal Imaging Camera with Minimal Mechanical Shutter Utilization

Uncooled LWIR (Long-Wave InfraRed) thermal imaging cameras are characterized by non-uniformity. because infrared detectors exhibit nonlinear characteristics depending on the environmental temperature. In this paper, we propose a method to smoothly transition between a method of correcting non-uniformity using a shutter one time when the thermal imaging camera is not stable at the start-up, and a method of correcting non-uniformity by performing conventional NUC (Non-Uniformity Correction) when thermal image camera is stabilized. The proposed method was confirmed to have similar performance to the conventional method in which the thermal imaging camera uses the shutter several times during initial start-up. The conventional method closes the shutter multiple times to correct non-uniformity, which obscures information necessary for driving. In contrast, the proposed method closes the shutter only one time during initial start-up to correct non-uniformity, which does not obscure information necessary for driving. Therefore, it is suitable for auxiliary systems used in autonomous driving platforms.