Range Information via Passive Infrared (RIPIR)

UAVs are a major force multiplier in United States military operations, conducting high-altitude unmanned surveillance and medium range air to ground engagements. Recently, UAV mission spaces have expanded to include resupply of deployed forces, and may soon include direct air support. As UAVs have moved into these new mission spaces, their operating altitudes have decreased, requiring high-resolution, near real-time terrain/obstacle detection, mapping and avoidance. Active sensing (radar/ladar) hardware both exceeds size, weight and power (SWAP) limits for small/micro UAVs and poses emissions risks for high-threat environments. Passive stereo imagery can provide needed ranging information, but collection and sensor requirements are often outside operational parameters. To overcome the challenges of all-condition passive ranging, we propose a system for Range Identification via Passive Infrared (RIPIR), which offers a solution for single-camera passive stereo ranging in vehicles that need to operate in low-light/no-light environments without active emissions. RIPIR uses a novel error reduction technique to improve 6 degrees of freedom (6DOF) positioning, enabling a single low-cost COTS forward-looking long-wave infrared (LWIR) sensor using noise reduction and super-resolution approaches to develop a range map in low-light/no light conditions while still remaining within UAV SWAP-C limits and operational maneuver envelopes.