Model of thermal infrared image texture generation based on the scenery space frequency

Infrared texture is an important feature in identifying scenery. To simulate infrared image texture effectively at different distances, we propose a model of infrared image texture generation based on scenery space frequency and the image pyramid degradation principle. First, we build a spatial frequency filter model based on imaging distance, taking into account the detector’s maximum spatial frequency, and use the filter to process a “zero” distance infrared image texture. Second, taking into consideration the actual temperature difference of the scenery’s details due to variation of the imaging distance and the effect of atmospheric transmission, we compare the actual temperature difference with the minimum resolvable temperature difference of the thermal imaging system at a specific frequency and produce a new image texture. The results show that the simulated multiresolution infrared image textures produced by the proposed model are very similar (lowest mean square error 1⁄4 0.51 and highest peak signal-to-noise ratio 1⁄4 117.59) to the images captured by the thermal imager. Therefore, the proposed model can effectively simulate infrared image textures at different distances. © The Authors. Published by SPIE under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. Distribution or reproduction of this work in whole or in part requires full attribution of the original publication, including its DOI. [DOI: 10.1117/1.OE.54.4.043102]