A new /spl Delta/T metric evaluation for target and background under various statistics

To generate images to assess the detection performance of thermal imaging systems and countermeasured platform signatures, a method to characterize the background and target is required so that their signatures can be statistically matched. Current methods use an area-weighted average temperature difference (AWA/spl Delta/T), which is regarded as inadequate in representing observer's sensitivity to the inherent detection cues of the target/background/clutter signatures. In an effort to identify a more robust and accurate /spl Delta/T metric definition for statistical background and target matching, Battelle developed a new /spl Delta/T metric definition and equation using RMS pixel-based higher order statistics for the background and target signature pixel data in a scene image. This new /spl Delta/T metric is evaluated using images under various target and background statistics, for example, combinations of exponential, Gaussian, log-normal, and Rice distributions. The metric is also compared to other metrics. This new /spl Delta/T metric provides a better estimate of true signature difference between the background/clutter and target, enabling more accurate matching of the background/clutter and target for use in sensor detection performance assessment.<
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