Sensor Fusion of 3D Time-of-Flight and Thermal Infrared Camera for Presence Detection of Living Beings

Presence detection of living beings is a key processing step in many applications. To increase the detection accuracy, an algorithm that uses camera fusion of a 3D Time-of-Flight (3D ToF) and a Long-Wave Infrared (LWIR) camera is applied and characterized here. Different sensor fusion approaches and sensor data processing schemes are compared. The algorithms are applied to a typical wildlife detection dataset and their performance is evaluated. The detection accuracy is up to 10 % higher when combining 3D ToF and LWIR images compared to only 3D ToF or LWIR images. Additionally, the location and size of the living being can be determined using the 3D ToF image.