Thermal

Researchers and students at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology are using sophisticated drones to digitally map Frog Lake First Nation. The nation, about 260 kilometres northeast of Edmonton, has relied on paper and low-resolution digital maps that no longer represent the community, according to the research team. “Maps are incredibly dynamic. They change quite ...

Technology is furthering innovation in wildland firefighting across the west, including the Tahoe Basin — and not just in the process of extinguishing flames but in prevention of these catastrophic burns. Last fall, researchers at the University of Nevada, Reno, kicked off a series of projects that seek to map out the vegetation in the ...

Driverless cars can struggle to distinguish between a pedestrian and a cardboard cutout of a person when it is dark or particularly rainy. A system that uses AI to identify objects based on their heat emission patterns could help autonomous vehicles to operate more safely in all outdoor conditions. Zubin Jacob at Purdue University in ...

British investment firm Seraphim Space surveyed the Earth observation sector a few years ago, categorizing startups by sensor type. Analysts determined that firms focused on electro-optical and synthetic aperture radar were advancing rapidly. Thermal imagery startups were not. “Much to our surprise, it was the only sensor area that didn’t have any companies that had ...