Nonuniformity correction method with dual gradient scenes for unmanned aerial vehicles

Infrared detectors often suffer from severe nonuniformity noise, which degrades the performance of the infrared search and track (IRST) systems equipped in unmanned aerial vehicles. In this paper, a new nonuniformity correction method based on dual gradient scenes is proposed. Two gradient scenes with uniform radiation in the horizonal direction are selected to estimate the correction coefficients. The proposed method is capable of calibrating the whole electro-optics chain, compensating the nonlinear response, and correcting the nonuniformity at the same time. Moreover, the proposed method can be implemented in real time due to its simplicity and low computational complexity. Experimental results with a proof-of-concept IRST system demonstrate that the proposed method can effectively decrease the local standard deviation of the corrected images.