A real-time color image fusion system has been presented for the infrared thermal camera and the low-light-level camera, which provides more complete spectral image information. The statistical transform method based on the YCRCBcolor model transfers the first order statistics of the color distribution of a representative natural color daytime reference image to the false color dual -band images. This mapping is usually performed in a perceptually decorrelated color space. The colors in the resulting colorized dual-band images closely resemble the colors in the daytime color reference image. Also, object colors remain invariant under panning operations and are independent of the scene content. Preliminary field trials demonstrate the potential of these systems for applications like surveillance, security and target detection.

Date Published: 4 August 2009
PDF: 7 pages
Proc. SPIE 7383, International Symposium on Photoelectronic Detection and Imaging 2009: Advances in Infrared Imaging and Applications, 73833B (4 August 2009); doi: 10.1117/12.835790

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 7383:
International Symposium on Photoelectronic Detection and Imaging 2009: Advances in Infrared Imaging and Applications
Jeffery Puschell; Hai-mei Gong; Yi Cai; Jin Lu; Jin-dong Fei, Editor(s)