Automated determination of scale and orientation of mine field grid

Abstract

Mine fields are often distinguishable in overhead hyperspectral LWIR imagery due to the spatial pattern in which the mines are laid. Recognition of these field patterns in overhead landmine imagery shows promise for enhancing the ability to detect mine fields. However, before one can search for a field pattern in an image, it is necessary to determine the orientation and size of the pattern within the image, should it exist. We present a method for determining likely scales and orientation for grids of landmines. The approach is to consider pairs of interest points and then look for patterns in the slopes of the lines connecting them. The dominant slope then determines an orientation angle. Next, we look for patterns in the distances between pairs of points that have a slope close to the orientation angle. An application to detecting mine fields via recognition of patterns of features in hyperspectral LWIR imagery is given.