Infrared machine vision and infrared thermography with deep learning: A review

Infrared imaging-based machine vision (IRMV) is the technology used to automatically inspect, detect, and analyse infrared images (or videos) obtained by recording the intensity of infrared light emitted or reflected by observed objects. Depending on whether controllable excitation is used during the imaging of infrared rays, thermal IRMV can be categorised into passive thermography and active thermography. Passive thermography is an important supplement to conventional machine vision based on visible light and is a valid imaging tool for self-heating objects such as the human body and electrical power devices. Active thermography is a nondestructive testing method for the quality evaluation and safety assurance of non-self-heating objects. In active thermography, the trend is to inspect rapidly, reliably, and intelligently by introducing multiple-mode excitation sources and artificial intelligence. The rapid development of deep learning makes IRMV more and more intelligent and highly automated, thus considerably increasing its range of applications. This paper reviews the principle, cameras, and thermal data of IRMV and discusses the applications of deep learning applied to IRMV. Case studies of IRMV and deep learning on various platforms such as unmanned vehicles, mobile phones and embedded systems are also reported.