Validation of infrared sensor model with field-collected imagery of unresolved unmanned aerial vehicle targets

摘要

An infrared (IR) sensor model is validated using experimentally derived peak pixel signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) versus range for detection of either an unresolved or a resolved unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) target. The model provided estimates the time-averaged peak SNR values for the ranges used in the field collection. A mid-wave infrared (MWIR) camera and a long-wave infrared (LWIR) camera provided the measured data. Commercially available UAVs are flown along a line from the cameras to a clear sky region for background. A laser range finder measures the range at seven stopping points along the path. The data result in five ranges of unresolved target information for the MWIR camera and in four ranges for the LWIR camera. We provide details for using the data collected from the model to match the cameras used in the field collection. Also, the processing used to extract peak SNR versus range from imagery is presented.