Image analysis by object addition and recovery

• US 9,014,488 B2
• Filed: 05/20/2014
• Issued: 04/21/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/08/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Image Insight, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Image Insight, Inc.
• Inventors: Rubenstein, Eric P., Drukier, Gordon A.
• Primary Examiner(s): AZARIAN, SEYED H
• Application Number:
  US14/282,321
• Publication Number:
  US 20140254944A1
• Time in Patent Office: 336 Days
• Field of Search: 382/100, 382/103, 382106-107, 382/155, 382/168, 382/181, 382/199, 382/203, 382/224, 382/232, 382/254, 382/274, 382/276, 382286-291, 382/305, 382/312, 382/318, 715/716, 348/155, 348/143, 348/349, 700/83, 700/94
• US Class Current: 382/218
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/13 Satellite images

Abstract

The invention described herein is generally directed to methods for analyzing an image. In particular, crowded field images may be analyzed for unidentified, unobserved objects based on an iterative analysis of modified images including artificial objects or removed real objects. The results can provide an estimate of the completeness of analysis of the image, an estimate of the number of objects that are unobserved in the image, and an assessment of the quality of other similar images.

Claims

1. A method for quantitative analysis of image characteristics, the method comprising:

assessing, by a processor, quality of an acquired image;

inserting, by a processor, at least one artificial object selected from a library into the acquired image to create a modified image;

assessing, by a processor, quality of the modified image;

determining, by a processor, a confidence level that all objects in the acquired image have been identified; and

quantifying, by a processor, reliability of the acquired image.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the confidence level is a probability of a number of objects in the acquired images being identified.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein assessing the quality of each of the acquired image and the modified image comprises deriving, by a processor, a set of parameters, wherein each parameter of each set of parameters is selected from the group consisting of brightness, contrast, color, shape, orientation, and location.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein assessing the quality of each of the acquired image and modified image comprises performing, by a processor, Monte Carlo simulation.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining, by a processor, whether to acquire additional images based on the reliability of the acquired image.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the method is automated.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

assessing, by a processor, the quality of one or more additional acquired images;

inserting, by a processor, at least one artificial object selected from a library into at least one of the one or more additional images to create additional modified images;

assessing, by a processor, the quality of each of the additional modified images;

determining, by a processor, a confidence level that all objects in the additional acquired images have been identified; and

quantifying, by a processor, reliability of the acquired images.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising generating, by a processor, a report.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one artificial object is selected from the group consisting of vehicles, trucks, tanks, missile launchers, aircraft, motorcycles, boats, ships, aquatic features, aerial features, geological formations, buildings, houses, barracks, garages, storage buildings, weapons depots, people, armaments, anti-aircraft artillery, missiles, trees, plants, an outline of an object, a simple geometric shape, and combinations and portions thereof.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one artificial object has well-defined geometry, albedo, spectroscopic properties, polarimetric properties, and combinations thereof.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one artificial object is wholly or partially covered or hidden.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising manipulating, by a processor, the artificial object.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein manipulating comprises rotating, scaling, shearing, smearing, degrading, introducing shadows, introducing obscuration, introducing layover, introducing multipath, introducing indirect illumination, introducing reduced/partial transparency effects, simulating camouflage, simulating netting, simulating vegetation, simulating ground covering, simulating water covering, simulating cloud covering, simulating weather, convolving with a nearby object, and combinations thereof.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one artificial object comprises one or more optical characteristics selected from the group consisting of one or more of brightness, color, location, orientation, texture, and reflectivity.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the acquired image is selected from the group consisting of aerial still images, aerial video images, satellite still images, satellite video images, ground to ground still images, ground to ground video images, ground to air still images, ground to air video images, ground to water still images, ground to water video images, water to ground still images, water to ground video images, water to water still images, water to water video images, air to air still images, and air to air video images.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein an area encompassed by the acquired image is selected from one or more of a terrestrial area, an aquatic area, an aerial area, and an extraterrestrial area.

17. The method of claim 1, further comprising digitizing, by a processor, the acquired image.

18. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

creating, by a processor, a plurality of image chips, wherein each image chip includes a portion of the acquired image; and

parsing, by a processor, the plurality of image chips into one or more groups of image chips having objects and one or more groups of image chips not having objects.

19. The method of claim 1, further comprising enhancing, by a processor, at least a portion of the acquired image, the modified image or combinations thereof by a method selected from the group consisting of adjusting contrast, adjusting color, extracting an image, collaging, registering, coadding, averaging, median-filter combining, sigma-clip averaging, splicing, histogram matching, mosaicking, convolution filtering, deconvolution filtering, unsharp-masking, edge detecting, Fourier transforming, reducing background noise, texture processing, creating multispectral data, using multispectral data, creating hyperspectral data, and using hyperspectral data, and combinations thereof.

20. A system comprising:

a processor; and

a non-transitory, processor-readable storage medium in communication with the processor, wherein the non-transitory, processor-readable storage medium comprises one or more programming instructions that, when executed, cause the processor to;

assess quality of an acquired image;

insert at least one artificial object selected from a library into the acquired image to create a modified image;

assess quality of the modified image;

determine a confidence level that all objects in the acquired image have been identified; and

quantify reliability of the acquired image.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the confidence level is a probability of a number of objects in the one or more real images being identified.

22. The system of claim 20, wherein instructions that, when executed, cause the processor to assess the quality of each of the acquired image and modified image comprise instructions that, when executed, cause the processor to derive a set of parameters related to each of the acquired image and modified image, wherein each parameter of each set of parameters is selected from the group consisting of brightness, contrast, color, shape, orientation, and location.

23. The system of claim 20, wherein instructions that, when executed, cause the processor to assess the quality of each of the acquired image and modified image comprises instructions for carrying out a Monte Carlo simulation.

24. The system of claim 20, wherein the non-transitory, processor-readable storage medium further comprises instructions that, when executed, cause the processor to determine whether to acquire additional images based on the reliability of the acquired image.

25. The system of claim 20, wherein the non-transitory, processor-readable storage medium further comprises instructions that, when executed, cause the processor to generate a report.

26. The system of claim 20, wherein the non-transitory, processor-readable storage medium further comprises instructions that, when executed, cause the processor to manipulate the artificial object.

27. The system of claim 26, wherein manipulating comprises rotating, scaling, shearing, smearing, degrading, introducing shadows, introducing obscuration, introducing layover, introducing multipath, introducing indirect illumination, introducing reduced/partial transparency effects, simulating camouflage, simulating netting, simulating vegetation, simulating ground covering, simulating water covering, simulating cloud covering, simulating weather, convolving with a nearby object, and combinations thereof.