Patent ID: 8369563

Claim:
A method for automatically detecting fires on Earth's surface using a satellite system, the method comprising: acquiring multi-spectral images of the Earth at different times, using a multi-spectral satellite sensor, each multi-spectral image being a collection of single-spectral images each associated with a respective wavelength (λ), and each single-spectral image being made up of pixels each indicative of a spectral radiance (R λ ) from a respective area of the Earth; providing a physical model relating the spectral radiances (R λ ) of the pixels in the multi-spectral images acquired at different times to physical quantities representing thermodynamic phenomena occurring on the Earth's surface, including a possible fire on the Earth's surface, in the Earth's atmosphere, in the form of clouds, veils or fog, and related to the Earth and the Sun relative positions; and computing in the physical model, for at least one considered pixel, at a given time (t), a background temperature (T B,t ) and a pixel fraction (f t ) representing an extension of a possible fire on the Earth's surface, based on the spectral radiance (R λ,t ) of the considered pixel at the given time (t), a previously acquired spectral radiance (R λ,t−Δt ) of the considered pixel of the pixel fraction (f t−Δt ) previously computed in the same physical model for the same considered pixel, and of the background temperature (T B, t−Δt ) previously computed in the same physical model for the same considered pixel; and detecting a fire in an area of the Earth's surface based on the pixel fraction (f t ) computed in the physical model for the corresponding pixel.