Large-area monitoring using infrared imaging system

An apparatus for thermal monitoring, the apparatus comprising:

• a memory;
• and
• at least one processor device, coupled to the memory, operative to:
• obtain an infrared reference image of a geographical area at a time t using at least one imaging system, the imaging system comprising an infrared thermographic camera equipped with curved optics having a field of view of from about 0.01 miles to about 1.5 miles and interchangeable light filters positioned in front of the infrared thermographic camera configured to change one or more of an intensity and an amplitude of light captured by the imaging system, wherein at least one of the interchangeable light filters is tailored for wavelengths of light in an infrared light spectrum, and wherein the interchangeable light filters are selected such that a transmission window of light that can pass through each of the interchangeable light filters does not overlap among the interchangeable light filters;
• obtain consecutive infrared images of a region of the geographical area equal in size to the field of view at one or more times t+Δt using the at least one imaging system, wherein one or more of the intensity and the amplitude of light captured by the imaging system is changed via the interchangeable light filters each time one of the consecutive infrared images is obtained;
• and
• subtract the infrared reference image from the consecutive infrared images to identify one or more of the objects which exhibit a change in temperature between the time t and the one or more times t+Δt.

An article of manufacture for thermal monitoring, comprising a non-transitory machine-readable medium containing one or more programs which when executed implement the steps of:

• obtaining an infrared reference image of a geographical area at a time t using at least one imaging system, the imaging system comprising an infrared thermographic camera equipped with curved optics having a field of view of from about 0.01 miles to about 1.5 miles and interchangeable light filters positioned in front of the infrared thermographic camera configured to change one or more of an intensity and an amplitude of light captured by the imaging system, wherein at least one of the interchangeable light filters is tailored for wavelengths of light in an infrared light spectrum, and wherein the interchangeable light filters are selected such that a transmission window of light that can pass through each of the interchangeable light filters does not overlap among the interchangeable light filters;
• obtaining consecutive infrared images of a region of the geographical area equal in size to the field of view at one or more times t+Δt using the at least one imaging system, wherein one or more of the intensity and the amplitude of light captured by the imaging system is changed via the interchangeable light filters each time one of the consecutive infrared images is obtained;
• and
• subtracting the infrared reference image from the consecutive infrared images to identify one or more of the objects which exhibit a change in temperature between the time t and the one or more times t+Δt.