Spaceborne imaging system modeling and simulation
Principal Investigator(s)
John Kerekes
Research Team Members
Sanghui Han
Project Description
This project is investigating approaches to application performance driven design of spectral imaging systems. The research combines the use of analytical modeling tools (FASSP) with image simulation (DIRSIG) to identify critical points in the system parameter tradespace with a goal of optimizing the design and operation of tunable spectral imaging systems designed for cubesats. The work has also included development of a novel band selection technique using only the reflectance spectra of the desired target. The figure captures several aspects of the project including a range of materials, some of the simulated images used, and predictions of detection utility.
Project Status:
The project will be completed shortly after the end of the 2018-19 academic year. Novel contributions have included the band selection technique as well as various scene and imaging system metrics together with their relationships to utility for subpixel target detection applications.
Figures and Images
Example analysis exploring the subpixel detectability of different materials. The images on the left show deployments of vehicles in simulated imagery designed to occupy a range of subpixel fractions (abundance). The plot on the upper right shows the material reflectance spectra while the curves in the lower right are the result of the analytical predictions of detection utility versus pixel target abundance for the various materials.