A ligth-weight thermal camera payload with georeferencing capabilities for small fixed-wing UAVs

Abstract

This paper discusses the design and implementation of a light-weight thermal camera payload for small fixed-wing UAVs with a pan/tilt mechanism and georeferencing based on a simple autopilot's GPS and IMU. Further, an effective and simple method to accurately calibrate a thermal camera is developed and tested. In order to evaluate the accuracy of the georeferencing algorithm, a test flight was conducted. Georeferencing 80 images of an object showed that the average of the 80 images were only 1.6m from the object's actual position when operating at 50 - 100m altitude above ground. Although the average georeferencing error was estimated to be around 7m, this accuracy is considered sufficient for most of the intended object tracking and surveillance applications.