Factors Influencing Temperature Measurements from Miniaturized Thermal Infrared (TIR) Cameras: A Laboratory-Based...

Area of Science:

• Agricultural Science
• Remote Sensing
• Environmental Monitoring

Background:

• Accurate surface temperature estimation is crucial for agricultural field management.
• Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)-based thermal infrared (TIR) cameras offer potential for proximal sensing.
• Understanding sensor performance and influencing factors is vital before field deployment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the laboratory performance of UAV-borne WIRIS 2nd GEN and handheld FLIR E8-XT thermal cameras.
• To identify factors affecting the accuracy of temperature measurements from these sensors.
• To provide recommendations for improving temperature data acquisition in agricultural research.

Main Methods:

• Conducted laboratory experiments on WIRIS 2nd GEN and FLIR E8-XT thermal cameras.
• Assessed sensor stabilization time and temperature drift.
• Investigated the influence of ambient environmental parameters, measuring distance, and field of view (FOV).

Main Results:

• Uncooled TIR sensors required 30-60 minutes for signal stabilization, with continuous temperature drift impacting measurements.
• Automated non-uniformity correction (NUC) in WIRIS cameras introduced additional uncertainty.
• Increased measuring distance, ambient conditions, wind, and radiation led to underestimation and uncertainty of several degrees Celsius.

Conclusions:

• Radiometric TIR cameras require careful calibration and consideration of environmental factors for accurate agricultural temperature monitoring.
• Recommendations are provided for optimizing data collection practices with miniaturized TIR cameras in agro-environmental research.
• Further research should focus on field validation and developing robust correction algorithms.