What is the “Recognition” Rating in DRI for Thermal Infrared Cameras?

Detection, Recognition, and Identification (DRI) are guidelines that have been set in place by The Night Vision Thermal Imaging Systems Performance Model, also referred to as the Johnson criteria. They are a universally accepted set of standards developed by the US Army to provide a means of measuring the distance whereby a thermal sensor can produce an image of a specific target.

Contrary to what might be expected, recognition does not mean that you can recognize a person. Recognition simply means that you are able to recognize an object’s class (is it a human or a car, is it a truck or a tank, etc).

For a complete explanation of DRI measurements and what to expect from them, please see our Whitepaper on DRI: Thermal Distance Ratings Explained.