Synthetic background scenes can play a significant role in the development of space surveillance systems and autonomous navigation. They can be used to test the performance of proposed target acquisition and tracking algorithms, to evaluate the robustness of navigation algorithms with respect to temporal scene variations, and to investigate the scope of on-board data processing requirements. They can provide a more thorough and systematic evaluation of the relative performance of competing algorithms for a greater diversity of terrain backgrounds, environmental conditions, and viewing geometries than real data. Moreover, their use requires no costly commitment to hardware construction and flight programs. We describe a comprehensive program for the generation of Monte Carlo sets of background scenes, statistically representative of the diverse environmental conditions for a particular locale. Sample results are given of a Monte Carlo simulation of clouds over ocean at midlatitudes. In addition to graphic representations of the infrared radiance distributions, we outline the simulation methodology and the meteorological data base used for the statistical modeling of cloud cover. As an application we use this set of synthetic scenes to evaluate the performance of a drift-compensated temporal differencing algorithm for clutter suppression.

Date Published: 12 July 1983
PDF: 8 pages
Proc. SPIE 0366, Modern Utilization of infrared Technology VIII, (12 July 1983); doi: 10.1117/12.934239

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 0366:
Modern Utilization of infrared Technology VIII
Irving J. Spiro, Editor(s)