For those unaware there have been methods used in the past to increase the effective resolution of a thermal camera FPA to create far higher resolution images than could be achieved with the FPA at its native optical resolution. These methods have included using a spinning disk containing germanium prisms that offset the image presented to the FPA pixels and software solutions that use the natural movement of the thermal camera when hand held to capture multiple images for merging in software. The spinning prisms ide is expensive and complex to implement and soon passed into thermal imaging history. The software approach is a far more practical option, especially with the power of modern processors that could easily process the imagery in real time. Note that we are not talking about interpolation or clever upscaling techniques that just use the limited raw resolution of the FPA. We are talking about the combining of multiple sets of fresh pixel data to create a true higher resolution image.
Super resolution has been available in recent years in two main forms…. On-camera dynamic super resolution of the live image and off-camera post processing using the super resolution imaging data from the cameras saved images. Again, this is not interpolation of data, it is combining of unique data sets. I own a Agilent thermal camera that provides Super-Resolution and Testo also offer it in some of their cameras. It is the on-camera dynamic super resolution that most interests me as it is seen whilst actually using the camera. Whilst it is true that such a technology could lower the true frame rate of a low powered thermal camera, if a decent image processor is used, it would not impact the frame rate significantly as the microbolometer may be read at higher speeds, such a 120fps whilst the images are presented to the user at 25fps, or possible faster.
So why are we not seeing more of this software based resolution enhancement on cameras with the, now common, 256 x 192 pixel FPA’s ?
Note that the tripod mounting of a camera with software based super resolution defeats the basic working principle of the system and n image resolution enhancement is to be expected.
Fraser