An image processing system has been designed and implemented which can accommodate a wide a range of image brightness, ranging in intensity from a dim star to the very bright exhaust plume of a boosting missile. The system seeks to maintain the maximum allowable gain in the image processor while not saturating the image. The implemented system uses two stages. The first is an image processing system, which selects the proper 8 bits out of a 12-bit image and achieves the above algorithm using a programmable lookup table. An 8- bit path is an artifact of the chosen image processing hardware. The image intensity to prevent saturation in the image processing system for brighter images. Both the programmable lookup table and the filter wheel can be set in response to the statistics collected for a given target image frame. This paper describes the algorithm used to achieve the required dynamic range compression. In operation, the dynamic range compression algorithm is used in a 'set and forget' fashion, where the algorithm is run for the first few frames of target imagery during a mission, and once the algorithm has settled, it is switched out and the resultant setting are employed for the remainder of the engagement. This research is being tuned by Ballistic Missile Defense Organization and conducted by the Air Force Research Laboratory.

Date Published: 15 July 1999
PDF: 7 pages
Proc. SPIE 3692, Acquisition, Tracking, and Pointing XIII, (15 July 1999); doi: 10.1117/12.352858

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 3692:
Acquisition, Tracking, and Pointing XIII
Michael K. Masten; Larry A. Stockum, Editor(s)