Thermographic and Visible Spectrum Camera Calibration for Marine Robotic Target Detection

In the context of detection, location and tracking of human targets with combination of thermographic and visible cameras, this paper addresses the problem of geometric calibration of thermographic and visible spectrum cameras necessary for the stereo perception of targets in the robot frame. A method for precise geometric calibration of thermographic and visible cameras in the autonomous surface vehicle (ASV) ROAZ II is presented. The method combine the utilization of special patterns for intrinsic calibration of thermographic cameras, with the usage of a high-resolution 3D laser scanner for the extrinsic calibration, relating the cameras frames with the robot frame. Calibration process results are presented and analyzed.