Susan A Mount

US Patent:

61923222, Feb 20, 2001

Filed:

Apr 19, 1996

Appl. No.:

8/633980

Inventors:

Gerard L. Rafanelli - Fountain Valley CA
Susan B. Mount - Torrance CA
Stephen K. Johnson - Herndon VA
Marilyn A. Sperka - Rancho Palos Verdes CA
Eric B. Jensen - Hermosa Beach CA
Mark J. Rehfield - Rancho Palos Verdes CA

Assignee:

Raytheon Company - Lexington MA

International Classification:

G01S 1750

US Classification:

702150

Abstract:

A spinning strip aperture imaging radiometer sensor system and data processing methods for detecting moving objects derived from a plurality of image frames acquired by a strip aperture imaging sensor. A moving object in any individual image frame results in a motion smear signature in the total synthesized image. The motion smear signature is processed to detect the moving objects. One embodiment of the system comprises a rotating strip aperture telescope, a two dimensional detector array that detects images in the telescope's focal plane, a rotation compensation device that prevents rotational smear during integration time of detectors of the array, a signal processor that records a plurality of image frames of a scene imaged by the telescope as it rotates around its optical axis, and that implements method(s) for detecting the moving objects present in the recorded images. A hierarchy of moving object detection processors and methods 20 is disclosed that includes spatial, temporal, spatial frequency, and temporal frequency domain detection processors, and is compatible with multi-spectral background rejection techniques. Selection of the appropriate processing procedure and method depends upon the scenario, and the effective signal to noise ratio characteristics of the moving object.