Simulation of atmospheric turbulence effects and mitigation algorithms on stand-off automatic facial recognition

Kevin R. Leonard; Jonathan Howe; David E. Oxford

doi:10.1117/12.979480

30 October 2012 Simulation of atmospheric turbulence effects and mitigation algorithms on stand-off automatic facial recognition

Kevin R. Leonard, Jonathan Howe, David E. Oxford

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 8546, Optics and Photonics for Counterterrorism, Crime Fighting, and Defence VIII; 85460O (2012) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.979480
Event: SPIE Security + Defence, 2012, Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Abstract

Stand-off base and force protection surveillance measures primarily rely on electro-optic and thermal imaging technology. Atmospheric turbulence causes blur, distortion and intensity fluctuations that can severely degrade the image quality of these systems. This work explores the effects of turbulence image degradation on the performance of automatic facial recognition software and also looks at the potential benefit of turbulence mitigation algorithms. The goal of this work is to understand the feasibility of long-range facial recognition in degraded imaging conditions. In order to create a large enough database to match against, simulated imagery of different ranges and turbulence conditions were created using a horizontal view turbulence simulator and a subset of the Facial Recognition Technology (FERET) database. The simulated turbulence degraded imagery was then processed with facial recognition software and the results are compared against those from the pristine image set. Finally, the performance of the facial recognition software with turbulence mitigated imagery is also presented.

Citation Download Citation

Kevin R. Leonard, Jonathan Howe, and David E. Oxford "Simulation of atmospheric turbulence effects and mitigation algorithms on stand-off automatic facial recognition", Proc. SPIE 8546, Optics and Photonics for Counterterrorism, Crime Fighting, and Defence VIII, 85460O (30 October 2012); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.979480

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available