Search and detection comparing midwave and longwave infrared

Abstract

To investigate the benefits of multiband infrared sensor design for target detection, search and detection experiments were conducted in the midwave infrared (MWIR) and longwave infrared (LWIR) wavebands in both rural and urban battlefields. In each battlefield environment, real imagery was collected in both bands by a single sensor using the same optics for both bands, resulting in perfect co-registration of the imagery. In order to study the performance impact of the spectral content, and not diffraction or other sensor-specific differences, the images were processed as needed so that differences in resolution due to diffraction were mitigated. The results of perception experiments, including detection probabilities, search times, and false alarm data, were compared between the wavebands.