Passive Optical Modeling (POM)

The Passive Optical Modeling (POM) system will be developed in partnership between 21st Century Technologies and the University of Texas at Austin. POM gives aerial platforms the ability to reconstruct 3D models of static backgrounds and moving vehicles using only low-altitude passive imagery. POM provides a complete battlefield modeling solution by integrating three subsystems into a coherent whole. The Real-Time Structure From Motion (RTSFM) system reconstructs 3D models of static backgrounds using a passive video camera. The Passive Acquisition, Tracking, and Handoff of Ground Moving Target Indication (PATH) system uses byproducts of the RTSFM modeling process to detect and track moving vehicles. The Vehicle Structure Recovery from a Moving Aerial Platform (VSRMAP) system leverages RTSFM and PATH data to recover 3D models of the moving targets with non-model-based and model-based approaches. POM also extends Professor Alan C. Bovik's world-leading SSIM image quality metric to provide a novel and superior metric for assessing reconstructed 3D structure models. POM extends Professor J.K. Aggarwal's groundbreaking work on interpreting and labeling events on tracked objects to improve our tracking and reconstruction results. By modeling moving and articulated ground targets, POM represents a significant advance in the military applicability of 3D modeling systems.