Proceedings Article | 13 August 1993
Proc. SPIE. 1967, Characterization, Propagation, and Simulation of Sources and Backgrounds III
KEYWORDS: Reticles, Fiber optic gyroscopes, Sensors, Air contamination, Clouds, Convolution, Signal detection, Atmospheric modeling, Electro optical modeling, Visibility
The occurrence of background clutter is an on-going issue in the development of electro- optical sensors and seekers. Clutter varies with many parameters, which makes it costly to utilize measured data. Modeled backgrounds must be tested, however, to determine if the clutter they generate is realistic. The study reported here was performed with several goals: (1) to develop a methodology for studying clutter; (2) to compare the clutter levels from different scene elements; (3) study variations in spectral bandpass and in atmospheric visibility; and, (4) to study the effect of varying model sophistication on clutter. The last goal is one which has not previously been studied, to our knowledge. These results give model developers guidance on what model elements deserve the most resources. The present study focused on a generic reticle seeker, such as would be used in a tactical missile. The backgrounds studied were of tree-lines horizons, sun-heated rocks, and broken clouds, in four spectral bands within the 1 to 12 micron infrared region. Atmospheric haze levels were varied from 1 km to 23 km visibility. For these computations, the order of importance to clutter levels was, (1) scene type, (2) model sophistication level, and (3) haze. Strong variations with spectral band were also noted, although bands could not be compared fairly.
