Scene-dependent harmonization of aircraft vision systems

Most modern fast jet aircraft have at least one infrared camera, a Forward Looking Infra Red (FLIR) imager. Future aircraft are likely to have several infrared cameras, and systems are already being considered that use multiple imagers in a distributed architecture. Such systems could provide the functionality of several existing systems: a pilot flying aid, a modern laser designator/targeting system and a missile approach warning system. This paper considers image-processing techniques that could be used in a distributed aperture vision system, concentrating on the harmonisation of high resolution, narrow field of view cameras with low-resolution cameras with wide fields of view. In this paper, consideration is given to the accuracy of the registration and harmonisation processes in situations where the complexity of the scene varies over different terrain types, and possible use of supplementary motion information from inertial measurement systems.

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