Simplified Environment for Insertion and Extrapolation of Low Observable Material Signatures into Photo-Realistic Imagery

To effectively design LO treatments for targets in realistic backgrounds a number of factors need to be considered. The sky and background radiances have complex temporal, spectral and angular variations. Surface treatments also vary in their bidirectional and spectral optical properties. Surfaces can be diffuse or specula, and vary spectrally depending on surface roughness. The spectral content surface depends on the material composition and can also be tailored spectrally. An optimal solution can vary with viewing angle and environmental conditions. This proposal is to develop a simplified engineering design tool to allow the LO engineer to effectively develop optical requirements for minimizing target/background contrast. The application will be based on first-principles treatments of surface BRDF and heat transfer. The application will perform local, diurnal and seasonal optimization based on modeled or measured backgrounds. The output will initially be a set of parameters defining the optical requirements of the optimal surface treatment. Ultimately this will be tied to the surface material composition. Also, the application will be coupled with a library of paint optical measurements and in additional output will be the "best fit" realization of the optimal solution, and contrast histograms of its performance in the selected scenario.