Multispectral object detection with thermal imaging

This document describes techniques, devices, and systems for enabling multispectral object detection with thermal imaging. A thermal sensor, a multispectral stereo camera system, and an illumination system are combined for providing a multispectral object detection system for safety or driving systems of autonomous and semi-autonomous vehicles. The illumination system may provide illumination for the stereo camera system and act as a range finder that may determine a distance between the stereo camera system and an object in a field of view of the system. Stereo camera systems may include one or more of a variety of camera or sensor technologies, including infrared or near infrared, thermal imaging, or visible light. The system may be used to detect an object in a field of view, determine a distance to the object, and estimate a size and relative motion of the object. The system can reduce cost and resource usage while achieving accurate and high quality object detection for safe and autonomous or semi-autono