Ocean RING: Infrared rendering of ocean scenes with the Realistic Image and Neighborhood Generator

The Stellar Science and Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) team proposes a synthetic scene generation software product that simulates radiometrically accurate infrared images of ocean scenes with vessels. Building upon Stellar Science’s existing Realistic Image and Neighborhood Generator (RING) software, we propose adding advanced features to RING that simulate important aspects of mid-wavelength infrared (MWIR) and long-wavelength infrared (LWIR) ocean scenes that are not currently captured. These features include sea surface modeling of sea states with whitecaps, directional thermal emission from the sea surface, ship exhaust plume rendering, integration with a vessel thermal prediction code, vessel wake modeling and rendering, rendering of cloud thermal emission, and fog modeling and rendering. Phase I will focus on the development of a prototype that will be the basis of a full-fledged application in Phase II called Ocean RING. The prototype will add sea surface directional emission and cloud thermal emission to RING’s existing extensive capabilities, which include target signature prediction, background rendering, atmosphere and cloud rendering, and sensor modeling. The Phase I effort will also include research into models and techniques that can be used to implement the additional advanced features in Phase II.