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Fire protection for launch facilities using machine vision fire detectionFire protection of critical space assets, including launch and fueling facilities and manned flight hardware, demands automatic sensors for continuous monitoring, and in certain high-threat areas, fast-reacting automatic suppression systems. Perhaps the most essential characteristic for these fire detection and suppression systems is high reliability; in other words, fire detectors should alarm only on actual fires and not be falsely activated by extraneous sources. Existing types of fire detectors have been greatly improved in the past decade; however, fundamental limitations of their method of operation leaves open a significant possibility of false alarms and restricts their usefulness. At the Civil Engineering Laboratory at Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida, a new type of fire detector is under development which 'sees' a fire visually, like a human being, and makes a reliable decision based on known visual characteristics of flames. Hardware prototypes of the Machine Vision (MV) Fire Detection System have undergone live fire tests and demonstrated extremely high accuracy in discriminating actual fires from false alarm sources. In fact, this technology promises to virtually eliminate false activations. This detector could be used to monitor fueling facilities, launch towers, clean rooms, and other high-value and high-risk areas. Applications can extend to space station and in-flight shuttle operations as well; fiber optics and remote camera heads enable the system to see around obstructed areas and crew compartments. The capability of the technology to distinguish fires means that fire detection can be provided even during maintenance operations, such as welding.
Document ID
19930022924
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Schwartz, Douglas B.
(Air Force Civil Engineering Center Tyndall AFB, FL, United States)
Date Acquired
September 6, 2013
Publication Date
February 1, 1993
Publication Information
Publication: NASA. Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, The Sixth Annual Workshop on Space Operations Applications and Research (SOAR 1992)
Subject Category
Launch Vehicles And Space Vehicles
Accession Number
93N32113
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.
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