An on-line image processing system

Abstract

The high-speed digital computer has contributed to significant progress in the field of optics. One particular area of optics benefiting from this progress is image processing. The purpose of image processing is to aid the human observer in extracting from an image information which has been obscured by some type of degradation The numerous factors which can degrade the quality of an image in an optical system include lens aberrations, poor focus, image motion, turbulence, and diffraction. In general, the problem of obtaining good images in an optical system should be approached by minimizing these factors by careful design and by control of conditions during recording of the image, usually on photographic film. However, there are times when all factors cannot be controlled sufficiently so that the recorded image lacks the required detail for a given application. In the past little could be done in the way of improving the image once it had been recorded. Now, recently developed processing techniques allow the image to be improved after it is recorded. Although there are several different methods by which these improvements can be made, one of the most powerful and flexible utilizes the digital computer. The purpose of this paper is to describe the basic method of processing, the difficulties facing the image processor working on practical problems, and a unique image processing system devised to overcome these difficulties.