Target acquisition system and method
First Claim
1. A target acquisition system comprising:
- imaging sensor means for viewing an image scene and providing first output signals corresponding thereto;
size identification means coupled to said imaging sensor means for processing said first output signals to identify objects present in said image scene whose sizes are in a predetermined size range and for providing second output signals indicative thereof;
gated tracking means coupled to said imaging sensor and size identification means for processing said first and second output signals to track the relative positions of objects in said image scene whose sizes are within said predetermined size range and for providing tracking position error output signals corresponding thereto, and for providing gated second output signals therefrom corresponding to said objects whose sizes are within said predetermined size range;
scene correlation means coupled to said imaging sensor and gated tracking means for tracking an aimpoint contained in said image scene; and
feature analysis means coupled to said gated tracking means for processing the gated second output signals to determine the features of said objects whose sizes are within said predetermined size range and for identifying target objects in said image scene based upon the features analyzed thereby.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system (20) for identifying and tracking targets in an image scene having a highly cluttered background. An imaging sensor and processing subsystem (21) provides a video image of the image scene. A size identification subsystem (23) removes background clutter from the image by filtering the image to pass objects whose sizes are within a predetermined size range. A feature analysis subsystem (24) analyzes the features of those objects which pass through the size identification subsystem and determines if a target is present in the image scene. A gated tracking subsystem (25) and scene correlation and tracking subsystem (26) track the target objects and image scene, respectively, until a target is identified. Thereafter, the tracking subsystems lock onto the target identified by the system (20). Several methods relating to target acquisition are also disclosed.
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Citations
27 Claims
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1. A target acquisition system comprising:
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imaging sensor means for viewing an image scene and providing first output signals corresponding thereto; size identification means coupled to said imaging sensor means for processing said first output signals to identify objects present in said image scene whose sizes are in a predetermined size range and for providing second output signals indicative thereof; gated tracking means coupled to said imaging sensor and size identification means for processing said first and second output signals to track the relative positions of objects in said image scene whose sizes are within said predetermined size range and for providing tracking position error output signals corresponding thereto, and for providing gated second output signals therefrom corresponding to said objects whose sizes are within said predetermined size range; scene correlation means coupled to said imaging sensor and gated tracking means for tracking an aimpoint contained in said image scene; and feature analysis means coupled to said gated tracking means for processing the gated second output signals to determine the features of said objects whose sizes are within said predetermined size range and for identifying target objects in said image scene based upon the features analyzed thereby. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A system for identifying objects that have known sizes and features which are located in an image scene containing objects having various sizes and features, said system comprising:
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imaging sensor means for providing first output signals corresponding to said image scene; size identification means coupled to said imaging sensor means for processing said first output signals and for providing second output signals indicative of objects within said image scene whose sizes are within a predetermined size range; gated tracking means coupled to said imaging sensor means and said size identification means for processing said first and second output signals in order to track those objects within said image scene whose sizes are within said predetermined size range and for providing tracking position error output signals indicative thereof; feature analysis means coupled to said gated tracking means for processing said second output signals to determine the relative features of said objects whose sizes are within said predetermined size range and for providing third output signals which are indicative of target objects located within said image scene; scene correlation and tracking means coupled to said imaging sensor means, to said feature analysis means and to said gated tracking means for processing said first and third output signals and said tracking position error signals in order to track said target objects. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A system for identifying and tracking objects that have known sizes and shapes which are located in an image scene containing objects having various sizes and shapes, said system being adapted for use on a moving vehicle, said system comprising:
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imaging sensor means for providing first output signals corresponding to said image scene; size identification means coupled to said imaging sensor means for processing said first output signals and for providing second output signals indicative of objects within said image scene whose sizes are within a predetermined size range; shape identification means coupled to said size identification means for processing said second output signals to determine the relative shapes of said objects whose sizes are within said predetermined size range and for providing third output signals which are indicative of target objects located within said image scene; gated tracking means coupled to said imaging sensor means and said size identification means for processing said first and second output signals in order to track those objects within said image scene whose sizes are within said predetermined size range and for providing tracking position error output signals corresponding to the frame-to-frame motion of said objects within said image scene; scene correlation and tracking means coupled to said imaging sensor means and said gated tracking means for processing said first and third output signals and said tracking position error signals, in order to track said target objects, said scene correlation and tracking means providing guidance signals to said moving vehicle in order to direct said vehicle towards said target object.
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Specification