Progress on color night vision: visible/IR fusion, perception and search, and low-light CCD imaging

Allen M. Waxman; Alan N. Gove; Michael C. Siebert; David A. Fay; James E. Carrick; Joseph P. Racamato; Eugene D. Savoye; Barry E. Burke; Robert K. Reich; William H. McGonagle; David M. Craig

doi:10.1117/12.241025

31 May 1996 Progress on color night vision: visible/IR fusion, perception and search, and low-light CCD imaging

Allen M. Waxman, Alan N. Gove, Michael C. Siebert, David A. Fay, James E. Carrick, Joseph P. Racamato, Eugene D. Savoye, Barry E. Burke, Robert K. Reich, William H. McGonagle, David M. Craig

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 2736, Enhanced and Synthetic Vision 1996; (1996) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.241025
Event: Aerospace/Defense Sensing and Controls, 1996, Orlando, FL, United States

Abstract

We report progress on our development of a color night vision capability, using biological models of opponent-color processing to fuse low-light visible and thermal IR imagery, and render it in realtime in natural colors. Preliminary results of human perceptual testing are described for a visual search task, the detection of embedded small low-contrast targets in natural night scenes. The advantages of color fusion over two alterative grayscale fusion products is demonstrated in the form of consistent, rapid detection across a variety of low- contrast (+/- 15% or less) visible and IR conditions. We also describe advances in our development of a low-light CCD camera, capable of imaging in the visible through near- infrared in starlight at 30 frames/sec with wide intrascene dynamic range, and the locally adaptive dynamic range compression of this imagery. Example CCD imagery is shown under controlled illumination conditions, from full moon down to overcast starlight. By combining the low-light CCD visible imager with a microbolometer array LWIR imager, a portable image processor, and a color LCD on a chip, we can realize a compact design for a color fusion night vision scope.

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Allen M. Waxman, Alan N. Gove, Michael C. Siebert, David A. Fay, James E. Carrick, Joseph P. Racamato, Eugene D. Savoye, Barry E. Burke, Robert K. Reich, William H. McGonagle, and David M. Craig "Progress on color night vision: visible/IR fusion, perception and search, and low-light CCD imaging", Proc. SPIE 2736, Enhanced and Synthetic Vision 1996, (31 May 1996); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.241025

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