Automation of thermographic 3D modelling through image fusion and image matching techniques

Abstract

Infrared thermography has proved to be an adequate technique for building inspection, as it can be used to determine energy efficiency and also to detect defects in construction. Geometry and spatial relationships are also very important in building inspection because they make location of thermal defects and measurement of affected surfaces possible. A procedure to fuse automatically generated infrared mosaics and visible images to combine geometric information with thermal data in the same image is described in this paper. Fused images are then used for the automatic generation of a thermographic 3D model of the building through image matching, where apart from having thermographic information available, geometric measurements can be performed. The proposed methodology is suitable for building inspection, where working space and time are usually limited so a reduction on the number and size of instruments is appreciated. Furthermore, automation of the process diminishes the error in results by avoiding operator's influence.