CHARLES RIVER ANALYTICS, INC. — Department of Defense SBIR Phase I: N181-066

Description

The Submarine Force is phasing out conventional optical periscopes in favor of digital sensor masts that electronically transmit video to the Control Center. However, digital imagery suffers from distortions due to weather and lighting variations in the scene and water on the lens, which in turn, decreases watchstanders situational awareness and ability to detect targets. While methods for improving these image degradations exist, they must be applied manually by skilled operators. We propose to develop Objective Sensor Manipulation for Optimized Submarine Imaging Systems (OSMOSIS) to automatically assess image quality and recommend enhancements for the operator to apply. OSMOSIS consists of two main software components. First, an automated image quality monitoring component analyzes input imagery and computes a General Image Score (GIS), which is higher for better quality images and decreases as image quality degrades (e.g., as motion blur or noise level increases). When GIS drops too low, OSMOSIS warns the watchstander that poor image quality could compromise situational awareness. The second component, an image enhancement wizard, then suggests camera parameter changes, filters, and image processing algorithms to improve image quality. Once the corrections are applied, OSMOSIS continues to monitor image quality and provide feedback to watchstanders.