Thermal Stress Analysis in Protective Equipment (TSAPE)

The use of infrared images to evaluate thermal stress of clothing and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is by now commonplace. However current methods rely on a qualitative assessment of these images and are subjective, prone to errors, and restricted to stationary human subjects or manikins. The main objective of this program is to develop a methodology for objective comparison of PPE performance. As part of the Thermal Stress Analysis in Protective Equipment (TSAPE) Phase I effort, Intelligent Automation Inc. (IAI) developed a prototype Software Tool capable of mapping surface temperature measured by a thermal camera onto a 3D wire-frame allowing for localized measurement of thermal stress. Our solution uses a Kinect 3D imaging sensor to estimate motion, determine body pose and locate body parts. A thermal camera aligned with the 3D sensor measures temperature.During Phase I, IAI successfully demonstrated the TSAPE capability by providing quantitative and objective thermal measurements for clothing in indoor and outdoor (shaded) environments and at a Navy climatic chamber. For Phase II, IAI proposes to advance the technology to handle different types of PPEs and human activities.