We develop models and simulation software to predict electrooptical system performance

Research Group Scene and Sensor Simulation

Today, the quality of available image data is of vital importance for successful civil security and defense operations. The performance of imaging systems for this reason needs to be considered in the design phase and known before deployment. To this end we develop performance evaluation models and software solutions. We analyze and model the entire imaging chain ­– starting with the scene, through the atmosphere, optics, sensor and signal processing to the display and the observer.

Considered performance metrics range from laboratory measured quantities such as the signal-to-noise ratio, modulation transfer functions, and minimal temperature difference perceived over range performances to the simulation and evaluation of expected output images.

Typical fields of application for our software are:

• analysis and evaluation of design concepts for electro-optical systems,
• assessment of the influence of environmental conditions and the scene on the electro-optical system performance,
• specification of the performance of electro-optical systems, e.g. by calculated detection, recognition and identification ranges.   
  

Technically, we mainly work with three different approaches:

• analytical models, such as TRM4, which are based on linear system theory and an abstract description of the scene,
• imaging simulations, such as OSIS, which implement the physical effects along the imaging chain by a stepwise modification of a high-resolution input image of the scene,
• methods for performance evaluation of imaging systems based on captured or synthetic image data. This includes the assessment of AI-based algorithms for image enhancement and object detection purposes.

In cooperation with the experimental research groups in the Optronics department, we check the predictions of our models and simulations against results from laboratory measurements and field tests.