Fraunhofer IOF develops IR camera to raise safety in autonomous driving

15 Oct 2024

Economical technology to be demonstrated at Suppliers Fair (IZB) in Wolfsburg 22-24 October.

Thermal imaging camera makes a pedestrian clearly visible.

Researchers from Jena have developed a cost-effective yet powerful infrared camera particularly suited for use in autonomous vehicles. The Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering (IOF) is presenting the innovative infrared camera at the International Suppliers Fair (IZB) in Wolfsburg, next week.

For road users in the Northern Hemishphere the arrival of darker mornings and evenings, often accompanied with mist or fog, means heightened caution, as visibility conditions deteriorate.

Thermal imaging cameras that can reliably detect people even in poor or limited visibility conditions can ensure greater safety here. This is particularly true for autonomous vehicles where there may not be a human constantly observing the road ahead.

A team from the IOF has developed a cost-effective thermal imaging camera for road traffic applications. The novel infrared camera operates in the wavelength range of 8 to 14 µm, which is precisely the same range in which thermal radiation emitted by humans is observed, both day and night.

“This technology can significantly improve road safety and prevent accidents,” said project manager Martin Hubold from IOF. “This is achieved by supplementing conventional camera systems and sensors, such as lidar or radar, under challenging visibility conditions without requiring active illumination.”

The new infrared camera uses an array of 2 x 4 sensors. Click to expand.

Flat design

When creating the camera, the researchers were guided by their experience with multi-aperture cameras. “The core idea is to build the camera from several small and cost-effective uncooled bolometer arrays,” said Hubold.

The individual image segments are combined by software into a large overall image with a current resolution of approximately 530 x 210 pixels over a field of view of 34 x 13 degrees.

The sensors are equipped with a catadioptric optics system, composed of mirrors and prisms. This allows for an exceptionally flat design of just 10 mm. In cooperation with the Fraunhofer Institute for Silicon Technology (ISIT), in Itzehoe, scalable and cost-effective lithographic methods were used for its production. The camera boasts fast optics (F/1.1) and high angular resolution (16 pixels/degree).

The infrared camera is designed with a particularly wide horizontal field of view to detect pedestrians or cyclists even under poor lighting conditions, such as darkness or glare from oncoming traffic, making it well-suited for driver assistance systems and autonomous vehicles (Level 3 and above).

In addition to the use in autonomous vehicles, the infrared camera also offers a wide range of possibilities for other applications. These include detecting heat losses, safety applications for monitoring landfills, or during fire department operations, as well as new concepts in industrial process monitoring.

Presentation at the IZB Wolfsburg 2024

The camera will be on display from October 22 to 24, 2024, at the IZB Wolfsburg 2024 exhibition, in Hall 2 (booth 2201). The trade fair presentation will show how infrared images can be fused with those from a visual camera to better assess safety-relevant situations.