signature=ed37da2d12cf0b179c5a8559cc679ebf,Improved target signature definition for modeling perform...

Paper Abstract

The standard model used to describe the performance of infrared sensors is the U.S. Army thermal target acquisition

model, NVThermIP. The model is characterized by the apparent size and contrast of the target, and the resolution and

sensitivity of the sensor. Currently, manual gain and level determine optimal contrast for military targets. The Night

Vision models are calibrated to such images using a spatial average contrast consisting of the root sum squared of the

difference between the target and background means, and the standard deviation of the target internal contrast. This

definition of contrast applied to the model will show an unrealistic increase in performance for saturated targets. This

paper presents a modified definition of target contrast for use in NVThermIP, including a threshold value for target to

background mean difference and means to remove saturated pixels from the standard deviation of the target. Human

perception experiments were performed and the measured results are compared with the predicted performance using the

modified target contrast definition in NVThermIP.