Methods of Increasing the Amount of Thermal Imaging Data in Machine Learning

Machine learning is increasingly being applied in the processing and analysis of thermal imaging for object recognition and identification. This article presents a study on the impact of data augmentation on the effectiveness of machine learning in the context of thermal image analysis. The publicly available FLIR ADAS dataset, which includes labeled thermal and visible light images, was used for this study. The research focuses on the use of Convolutional Neural Networks, specifically the YOLOv8 architecture, for object detection in thermal images. As part of the study, the FLIR ADAS dataset underwent preprocessing and augmentation, and was then used to train two different models: one based on grayscale images and another using a color palette. The results of the experiment indicate that data augmentation can significantly impact the effectiveness of the model, and the use of colors in thermal images may, in certain situations, further improve detection accuracy.