Elimination of resampling errors in wide area motion imagery (WAMI)

Extraction of useful information from Wide Area Motion Imagery (WAMI) data is limited by the resolution and clarity of the image. The resolution of the raw image is defined by the camera, optics, and conversion electronics. For use by an analyst, the raw image must be converted to a geo-rectified im...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:IEEE aerospace and electronic systems magazine 2017-06, Vol.32 (6), p.24-32
Main Authors: Cohenour, Curtis, Rovito, Todd, Van Graas, Frank
Format: Magazinearticle
Language:English
Subjects:
Aircraft components
Cameras
Clarity
Compression tests
Data storage
Image coding
Image compression
Image processing
Image resolution
Imagery
Mathematical model
Meters
Optical communication
Projected images
Projection
Resampling
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Summary:Extraction of useful information from Wide Area Motion Imagery (WAMI) data is limited by the resolution and clarity of the image. The resolution of the raw image is defined by the camera, optics, and conversion electronics. For use by an analyst, the raw image must be converted to a geo-rectified image. This projection process requires resampling, which results in a loss of resolution. In addition, compression may be required to accommodate a limited band width transmission link or limited storage space, again with a loss of resolution. Resampling and compression can reduce the clarity of the image as seen by the analyst. In this article, the impact of resampling and compression for the Wright Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB) 20091021 data set are analyzed. This data set contains both raw images and projected images. The projected images are generated using the traditional sensor exploitation tool (SET) model. The raw images are then projected using the SET model developed here. The resolution of the traditional SET and the proposed SET are measured. Measurement of the compression loss shows that compression is not responsible for the loss of resolution. The resolution is limited by the resampling process. To eliminate resampling errors, a novel SET model is proposed. The proposed SET model preserves the resolution of the original raw image by eliminating the resampling process before data storage and transmission.
ISSN:0885-8985
1557-959X
DOI:10.1109/MAES.2017.150249