Unit 4 –

Phoenix Thermal Imaging System

Unit ObjectiveAt the end of this unit, the student will be able to list and describe three of the characteristics of the Phoenix thermal imaging system.

Outline1. Line scanners

2. Phoenix DSP (digital signal processing)

3. A-kB detection algorithm

4. Phoenix output products

5. Metadata

6. Delivery methods

WHY IR LINE SCANNERS?

Map extremely large areas in a very short period of time

… while simultaneously …

Detecting very small fires

Extremely accurate for geo-positioning pixels

Ability to over-sample = multiple looks at same area

Multi-channel fire detection & false target rejection

Aerial Line Scanning

What is Phoenix? Phoenix is a digital image processing system coupled with a dual-channel line scanner

Maps 6 mile swath width (at 10,000 ft AGL) while detecting 6-8 inch heat sources (at

10,000 ft AGL)Collects data, processes fire detections, and creates imagery in near real-time

Launched in 2003First major deployment in 2004 in Alaska

USFS Phoenix Type 1 System FOV 6.5 miles (Yellow Box)

StarSafire III Type 3 System FOV .65 miles

Private Sector Type 2 System FOV 1.25 miles

Gold 1 Fire PerimeterSeptember 1, 2003

8317 Acres

Direction of Flight(Flight Time 2 Minutes)

PHOENIX System SpecificationsTwo channel thermal IR line scanner

3-5 µm band for intense heat8-12 µm band for background terrain

1.25 milliradian IFOV – 3.5 meter pixel at nadir, 10,000 feet AGL120 degree FOV – 6 mile swath at 10,000 feet AGL256 gray scale1680 pixels per scan line200 scan lines per second

Some Things To Remember About Phoenix Imagery

What is captured in the imagery is the relative variation in heat across the fire area

No one-to-one correspondence between pixel values and ground temperature

The technician can adjust the heat “threshold” value during runs across the fire area.

Doesn’t allow for automated extraction of heat* *(2015 will see a new method of fire detection that utilizes auto-extraction of heat)

There is more heat in the imagery than just the red ( value = 255) pixels!

Want To Know More About Ak-B and Phoenix?

http://nirops.fs.fed.us/docs/about-more/07-Sunbird%20group.pdf

“Report on Forest Service IR Systems and Target Discrimination Module”

ftp://ftp.nifc.gov/nirops/documentsPhoenix_FS_Airborne_IR_Detection_Mapping.pdf

Extreme Heat Detects “Blob” Imagery

Implement “De-smoke”

Heat “Halo” Effect “Halo” Effect Mitigated Using Color Tiff

PHOENIX System Installation – N144Z

Phoenix Data ProductsPhoenix is a digital imaging system

1. Digital imagery that is delivered via Aircell link to an FTP site.

2. Digital imagery that is uploaded to an FTP site

3. Digital imagery that can be delivered via USB “thumb drive”.

GeoTiffs

Color

Grayscale w/color gradient of heat levels

Un-rectified Tiffs (w/headers)

Phoenix Output Products 1

JPEG Mosaic(s)

Active Heat shape file (point)

Metadata

Phoenix Output Products 2

Phoenix Digital Strip ImageryPhoenix digital strip imagery incorporates a number of features that are illustrated in the following slides.

Imagery utilizes this naming convention:

031028_2203_Paradise_1

Time at the start of the first run

Date YYMMDD

Incident NameRun

Phoenix Imagery: Un-rectified Tiff Header Information

Digital File Name

IR TechName

AircraftHeadingDateTime

Date (YYMMDD)and Time (MDT)

Run #Fire Name

MetadataFull metadata is created for all Phoenix imagery

HTML format

FGDC - compliant format

Mission : Delivery75% of imagery delivery is via the AirCell platform.

Aircell is the company that provides in-flight Internet for commercial airlines (“GoGo”).

N149Z and N144Z have the business aviation systems; A Wi-Fi hotspot in the sky

25% of imagery delivery is via internet uploads to FTP (ftp.nifc.gov/nirops) site.

Typically as a FreeArc compressed self-extracting archive (.exe) occasionally as a WinZip (.zip)

IR information sharing• Facebook Group – Infrared• FreeArc link - We are using version 0.666 http://freearc.org/Download.aspx download the Windows installer and the

Add-on: FreeArc PowerPack (standard set of external compressors)FreeArc documentationhttp://freearc.sourceforge.net/index.htm

Twitter.com accounts*

NIROPS_N144Z and NIROPS_N149Z*Direct messages can be sent to each account but may not be answered quickly as Twitter does not assign the same priority as the 140 character Tweets. Please let the Tech know if you have a corrupt file upload ASAP!!

BUT…..

DO NOT discuss system errors or problems on Twitter as they will be seen by the public!!

IR information sharing (cont.)

Review ObjectiveAt the end of this unit, the student will be able to list and describe three characteristics of the Phoenix thermal imaging system.

A-kB Detection Concept

Courtesy Dave Chamberlain, CSC

Channel A, Mid-IR: 3-5 µmChannel B, LWIR: 8-14 µm

A-kB Detection Output From Phoenix System for 2015

Channel A Mid-IR: 3-5 µmChannel B LWIR: 8-14 µm

Magenta = Hottest

Purple/Red = Hot

Orange = Colder Still Hot

Yellow = Coldest But Still of Concern

Detected Heat Gradient

New for 2015Automated Twitter Messages & File Uploads

• While file is uploading a message will be sent via Twitter• The file name while uploading on the FTP site will have the

word “uploading” at the front of its name.• Once complete the “uploading” will be removed from the file

name and a message will be sent via Twitter.• If after an extended period of time the “uploading” has not

been removed from file name, assume there is a problem and wait for Technician/Pilot to re-upload. If the name of the file still contains “uploading” the file will be corrupt and unusable.

Questions?