The aim of herein work is to develop an automatized algorithm for detecting, as objectively as possible, the flame front evolution of lean/ultra-lean mixtures ignited by low temperature plasma-based ignition systems. The low luminosity characterizing the latter conditions makes both kernel formation and combustion development difficult to detect accurately. Therefore, to estimate the igniter capability to efficiently ignite the mixture, ever more performing tools are required. The present work proposes a new image analysis technique, based on a dual-exposure fusion algorithm and on Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs), to process low brightness images captured via high-speed camera on an optical engine. The performance of the proposed algorithm (PA) is compared to the one of a base reference (BR) algorithm used by the same research group for the imaging analysis. The comparison shows the capability of PA to quantify the flame radius of consecutive combustion cycles with lower dispersion if compared to BR and to correctly detect some events considered as misfires or anomalies by BR. Moreover, the proposed method shows greater capability to detect, in advance, the kernel formation with respect to BR, thus allowing a more detailed analysis of the performance of the igniters. A metric quantitative analysis is carried out, as well, to confirm the above-mentioned results. Therefore, PA results to be more suitable for analyzing ultra-lean combustions, heavily investigated to meet the increasingly stringent legislation on the internal combustion engines. Finally, the proposed algorithm allows us to automatically estimate the flame front evolution, regardless of the user’s interpretation of the phenomenon
