Sensor calibration and simulation

We describe a method for simulating the output of an image sensor to a broad array of test targets. The method uses a modest set of sensor calibration measurements to define the sensor parameters; these parameters are used by an integrated suite of Matlab software routines that simulate the sensor and create output images. We compare the simulations of specific targets to measured data for several different imaging sensors with very different imaging properties. The simulation captures the essential features of the images created by these different sensors. Finally, we show that by specifying the sensor properties the simulations can predict sensor performance to natural scenes that are difficult to measure with a laboratory apparatus, such as natural scenes with high dynamic range or low light levels.