Fast Visible Detection Studies Using Signature Maps

The Navy wishes to study trade-offs in aircraft maintenance versus visible and near IR detectability in the use of glossy paint finishes. We propose a novel simulation survey technique based on forward ray tracing which will greatly increase the possible space of vehicle, sun and observer positions for this trade study. Forward ray traces essentially calculate the signature in all view directions simultaneously in an extremely fast and efficient manner. Forward ray traces are also superior to other imaging techniques at identifying strong specular glints. We will employ a modern signature code with highly accurate glint modeling, a forward ray trace capability, and standard visual detection algorithms such as VIDEM in order to quantify the effect of paint gloss on aircraft detectability through simulational studies. We will also determine the best paint schemes to mitigate visible sun glints. We will employ validated BRDF fits and DHR tables for several paints of interest and CAD models of CH-53 and possibly other aircraft. A secondary goal is to improve BRDF fitting routines for the Pleskot (16 Parameter) BRDF model, which shows promise for producing superior fits while enforcing rigorous energy conservation.