KITWARE INC — Department of Defense SBIR Phase I: AF193-009

Description

Anti-access and area denial environments (A2/AD) can present a challenge when frequent observations are needed to determine changes in the region over time. This is particularly problematic when one is interested in the three-dimensional structure of the area of interest. 3D models reconstructed from 2D electro-optical (EO) images can provide a fairly complete model of a region but the number of observations needed and 360-degree coverage required make repeated observations of a A2/AD environment impractical. Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) excels at collected data from standoffs, but 3D models constructed from SAR tend to be sparse since the radar signal often scatters away from the receiver due to the local geometry or is absorbed depending on the target material. Kitware and Ohio State University propose to develop novel algorithms to fuse 3D models generated with EO and SAR data to provide robust 3D models of a region of interest. These models allow for accurate 3D change detection with only one initial EO data collection but repeated SAR data collections. These new algorithms will be incorporated into the open source TeleSculptor photogrammetry application, providing a quick transition of these new capabilities to operational use.