Development Of A Psychophysical Photo Quality Measure

In extracting information from aerial reconnaissance/sensor products, the image interpreter must often work with imagery of less than ideal quality. The Surveillance Systems research program of the Army Research Institute is designed to identify factors of photo quality that can help measure the interpretability of operational imagery. In the present experiment, image scale, atmospheric haze, and image motion were judged to be key factors in operational interpretability of imagery. Laboratory manipulation of representative operational images produced experimental images with controlled degradation of these three factors, separately and in combination. Image interpreters were asked to detect and identify military targets on this degraded imagery. Their scores were used to assess interpretability as a function of scale, haze, and image motion. In a parallel experiment, geometric shapes were positioned on background panels of black, white, and grey. Photographs of this array were degraded with respect to scale, haze, and image motion to the same levels as the first experimental imagery, and similar tests were conducted. (Modified author abstract).

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