Thermal Infrared Dataset for Object Detection

Computer vision, traditionally reliant on visible RGB data, is expanding to include thermal imaging, which offers unique advantages such as detecting objects in darkness or through obstacles by interpreting surface temperature radiation. Thermal imaging is instrumental in various fields including search and rescue, maritime navigation, and gas leak detection. To showcase its potential, Roboflow has released a free thermal imaging dataset for computer vision, featuring 203 annotated images of people and dogs. This dataset, captured using a Seek Compact XR camera for iPhone, aims to facilitate object detection and has been used to train an EfficientDet model with promising results. Although the model showed limitations when objects were distant, it successfully identified people and dogs, indicating the potential for further applications in areas like nighttime animal identification and rescue operations. The initiative highlights Roboflow's commitment to democratizing computer vision and encourages the development of new use cases leveraging thermal data.