AUTOMATED GAS DETECTION METHOD

Abstract

The invention relates to systems and methods for calibrating an imaging-based or LiDAR-based gas monitoring system to efficiently search for gas plumes. In one example, a calibration workflow improves the accuracy of transformations from points observed in a particular camera frame to a fixed coordinate system relative to the ground, such as a set of latitude, longitude, and height values; or a spherical polar coordinate system centered on the camera where the zenith is perpendicular to the ground.

Claims

compensating for a static offset in the indicated LiDAR range caused by a fixed optical path length in the camera; and determining a pan angle offset by positioning a high-contrast optical target at a fixed distance from the camera, recording the pan and tilt angles of the target, and calculating the pan angle offset based on the recorded angles.

9. The system of claim 8, the turntables also comprising corroborating the three-dimensional model generated from the methane LiDAR camera measurements with satellite imagery or aerial LiDAR scans.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the panoramic scan is repeated at periodic intervals to update the three-dimensional model, and the methane LiDAR camera resumes methane leak detection after completion of each panoramic scan.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein the static offset in the indicated LiDAR range is calibrated independently of the mast and pan-tilt stage during camera production.

12. The system of claim 8, the turntables also comprising applying a tilt angle offset correction by comparing the tilt angle measured when the camera is viewing the target to a tilt angle calculated based on the known length of the target arm and the distance along a mast.

13. The system of claim 8, the turntables also comprising calculating a tilt of the mast by treating the mast as a rigid body rotation about an axis that lies along the ground and intersects the mast at a base of the mast, and using this calculation to correct for deviations in the indicated ground elevation.

14. The system of claim 8, wherein the focal plane shift, LiDAR range shift, pan angle shift, tilt angle shift, and mast tilt are periodically recalibrated. [Fig. 1] [Fig. 2] [Fig. 3] R&3

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