OFF-SHADE CAMOUFLAGE ASSESSMENT TOOLS

Solid State Scientific Corporation proposes the investigation of concepts to design a software suite of tools for visualizing the effects of spectral band variances in military camouflage. The visualization software will allow users to input and vary the spectral value of multiple narrow bands in the visible through near infrared for the constituent colors in a camouflage material, create a representative digital swatch against a desired Red/Green/Blue (RGB) calibration, and display the digital swatch rendering within an RGB background image. The Phase I effort will use an existing 16-color visible-to-near infrared (VISNIR) camera to create a database of camouflage material colors, calibrating the camera performance in known spectral bands using appropriate lighting conditions. Ideally, the database of spectral colors will be developed using a supplied piece of qualified military camouflage material, although the process can be adequately demonstrated with any tri-color material. The resulting measurements from the SSSC spectral imager will show how a database of spectral signatures for camouflage colors can be used to augment spectral information obtained during the material qualification process under MIL-DTL-44436A in the red through near infrared bands. In addition, the use of a database of measured spectral values that can be varied based on future measurements during the qualification process will allow visualization software to represent a radiometrically accurate depiction in photographed backgrounds while minimizing the need for complex and time-consuming artificial model generation.