An expectation maximization solution for fusing 2D and 3D ladar data

Abstract

LADAR (LAser Detection and Ranging) systems can be used to provide 2-D and 3-D images of scenes. Generally, 2-D images possess superior spatial resolution without range data due to the density of their focal plane arrays. A 3-D LADAR system can produce range to target data at each pixel, but lacks the 2-D system's superior spatial resolution. It is the goal of this work to develop an algorithm using an Expectation Maximization approach for fusing 2-D and 3-D LADAR data. The algorithm developed demonstrates both spatial and range resolution improvement using simulated 2-D and 3-D LADAR data.