Detection of point targets in image sequences by hypothesis testing: a temporal test first approach

Abstract

This paper addresses the problem of designing an efficient and effective image sequence processing scheme that will successfully detect very small (point) targets in a cluttered background when both the target and clutter are moving through the image scene. The specific application area was detection of targets such as airplanes in infrared (IR) image sequences of a cloudy sky which have been taken by a stationary camera. In general we assume that targets are typically one to two pixels in extent and move only a fraction of a pixel per frame, are often low amplitude, and are found in scenes which also contain evolving clutter, e.g. clouds. Our algorithm is based on signal processing and detection theory, includes a perfect measurement performance analysis, and can be made computationally efficient compared to other approaches. Thus the algorithm could be applicable to other image sequence processing scenarios, using other acquisition systems besides IR, such as detection of small moving objects or structures in a biomedical or biological imaging scenario or the detection of satellites, meteors or other celestial bodies in night sky imagery acquired using a telescope. We present a GLRT solution, perfect measurement analysis including ROC curves, and results using real-world infrared data.