The problem of target detection in a sequence of infrared images is not an easy task when the target is small, faint and obscured. The problem grows more complex when the target is embedded in a highly structured (correlated) background. In this paper, a new detector for small IR targets is proposed. This detector consists of three main components: a local whitening (demeaning) filter, an orthogonal image modeling algorithm, known as fast orthogonal search (FOS), and finally a first order statistical analysis is exploited for further reduction of false alarms. Experimental results of using the above detector to detect real infrared targets are also included. These results demonstrate that the new detector yields a promising solution for the detection problems of small targets.

Date Published: 19 May 2005
PDF: 10 pages
Proc. SPIE 5807, Automatic Target Recognition XV, (19 May 2005);

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 5807:
Automatic Target Recognition XV
Firooz A. Sadjadi, Editor(s)