Real-Time Image Restoration for Image Enhancement and an Increased Target Acquisition Range

"The U.S. Army plans to deploy a new generation of forward-looking infrared (FLIR) sensors with more than a million pixels per image, generated at the television frame rate. With this unprecedented image detail, it will be necessary to process those imagesin real time using a super-resolution approach if they are to enable the timely identification of targets of interest. Building on successful Phase I results, Intelligent Optical Systems (IOS) proposes, in Phase II, to design, and generate completemanufacturing specifications for, an application-specific integrated circuit that incorporates image resolution enhancement algorithms developed specifically for military applications. When fabricated and inserted into a FLIR video sensor, this chip willbe able to perform frame-by-frame image restoration in real time (at 30 or 60 Hz), greatly enhancing system performance. IOS will work closely with Raytheon and other commercialization partners and secure commitments to insure the rapid deployment of thistechnology after successful completion of this Phase II research. Hardware (chip-scale) implementation of the algorithms developed in Phase II will achieve greater resolution enhancement at the needed frame rates, at lower cost, size, and weight than anyalternative approach-making this technology a clearly preferable choice for many military and commercial applications."