Development a Stabilized Computer Vision System for Infrared Aerial Fire Monitoring

Hummingbird Drones provides aerial fire monitoring services to the BC Wildfire Service through the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). They conduct night-time flights over wildfire zones to locate and map hotspots for ground crews. Their current operations suffer from two bottlenecks: a heavy camera stabilizer which decreases flight time, and long post-processing time after landing required to analyze captured thermal images. By developing a lightweight camera stabilizer with onboard microprocessor, images can be analyzed in real-time while minimizing the weight required for separate recording equipment. This all-in-one solution will streamline operations for Hummingbird Drones by increasing their imaging and processing efficiency, allowing them to provide up-to-date fire information to ground crews.

Faculty Supervisor:

Homayoun Najjaran

Student:

Ephraim Nowak

Partner:

Hummingbird Drones Inc

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Aerospace and defense

University:

University of British Columbia Okanagan