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Hyperspectral Point Cloud Projection For The Semantic Segmentation Of Multimodal Hyperspectral And Lidar Data With Point Convolution-Based Deep Fusion Neural Networks, Kevin T. Decker, Brett J. Borghetti
Hyperspectral Point Cloud Projection For The Semantic Segmentation Of Multimodal Hyperspectral And Lidar Data With Point Convolution-Based Deep Fusion Neural Networks, Kevin T. Decker, Brett J. Borghetti
Faculty Publications
The fusion of dissimilar data modalities in neural networks presents a significant challenge, particularly in the case of multimodal hyperspectral and lidar data. Hyperspectral data, typically represented as images with potentially hundreds of bands, provide a wealth of spectral information, while lidar data, commonly represented as point clouds with millions of unordered points in 3D space, offer structural information. The complementary nature of these data types presents a unique challenge due to their fundamentally different representations requiring distinct processing methods. In this work, we introduce an alternative hyperspectral data representation in the form of a hyperspectral point cloud (HSPC), which …
Fitting Solar Panel Brdf Parameters To Out-Of-Plane Empirical Data, Michael R. Gross
Fitting Solar Panel Brdf Parameters To Out-Of-Plane Empirical Data, Michael R. Gross
Theses and Dissertations
The bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) describes material reflectance by describing how incident irradiance reflects into all possible scatter angles as a function of incident angle. However, a solar panel has unique features that are not featured in any of these previously known models. A previous project at the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) created a novel microfacet-like BRDF to model a solar panel with a prominent diffractive feature present which had not been previously modeled. This BRDF was coded into MATLAB for modeling purposes and C++ to test its speed with a MEX function call. A previous thesis …
Machine Learning Land Cover And Land Use Classification Of 4-Band Satellite Imagery, Lorelei Turner [*], Torrey J. Wagner, Paul Auclair, Brent T. Langhals
Machine Learning Land Cover And Land Use Classification Of 4-Band Satellite Imagery, Lorelei Turner [*], Torrey J. Wagner, Paul Auclair, Brent T. Langhals
Faculty Publications
Land-cover and land-use classification generates categories of terrestrial features, such as water or trees, which can be used to track how land is used. This work applies classical, ensemble and neural network machine learning algorithms to a multispectral remote sensing dataset containing 405,000 28x28 pixel image patches in 4 electromagnetic frequency bands. For each algorithm, model metrics and prediction execution time were evaluated, resulting in two families of models; fast and precise. The prediction time for an 81,000-patch group of predictions wasmodels, and >5s for the precise models, and there was not a significant change in prediction time when a …
Improved Out-Of-Plane Brdf Measurement And Modeling, Todd V. Small
Improved Out-Of-Plane Brdf Measurement And Modeling, Todd V. Small
Theses and Dissertations
The bi-directional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) describes the directional (spatial) nature of light’s reflectance from a material surface. When incident light of a particular wavelength strikes a material surface from a particular direction, portions of that incident light will be reflected into various directions in various amounts, depending on the material’s surface characteristics. Historically, the vast majority of BRDF measurement and modeling research has focused on reflection within the plane-of incidence (in-plane) and dealt primarily with simplified isotropic BRDFs. Remote sensing applications, such as satellite light curve analysis, typically rely on closed-form microfacet models for efficiency. There are many factors, …
Identifying Four Year Average Cloud Field Regimes From World Wide Merged Cloud Analysis Dataset By Way Of K-Means Clustering, Stewart G. Almeida
Identifying Four Year Average Cloud Field Regimes From World Wide Merged Cloud Analysis Dataset By Way Of K-Means Clustering, Stewart G. Almeida
Theses and Dissertations
Joint histograms of cloud top height (CTH) and optical depth (OD) are created using the World-Wide Merged Cloud Analysis (WWMCA) dataset over a four year period (2014-2017) to identify average cloud field regimes and assess the application of utilizing the WWMCA dataset with the AFIT Sensor and Scene Emulation Tool (ASSET). Two selected regions encompassing the Florida peninsula and a portion of the Pacific Ocean off the west-central coast of South America are examined over the months of January and July. Cloud field regimes are identified by running generated hourly OD-CTH histograms through k-means clustering, with optimal cluster number ( …
Data Driven Investigation Into The Off-Axis Brdf To Develop An Algorithm To Classify Anisotropicity, Anne W. Werkley
Data Driven Investigation Into The Off-Axis Brdf To Develop An Algorithm To Classify Anisotropicity, Anne W. Werkley
Theses and Dissertations
The Bi-directional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF) is used to describe reflectances of materials by calculating the ratio of the reflected radiance to the incident irradiance. While it was found that isotropic BRDF microfacet models maintained symmetry about ɸs = π, such symmetry was not maintained about the θs = θi axis, except for close to the specular peak. This led to development of a novel data-driven metric for how isotropic a BRDF measurement is. Research efforts centered around developing an algorithm that could determine material anisotropy without having to fit to models. The algorithm developed here successfully …
Comparison Of The Accuracy Of Rayleigh-Rice Polarization Factors To Improve Microfacet Brdf Models, Rachel L. Wolfgang
Comparison Of The Accuracy Of Rayleigh-Rice Polarization Factors To Improve Microfacet Brdf Models, Rachel L. Wolfgang
Theses and Dissertations
Microfacet BRDF models assume that a surface has many small microfacets making up the roughness of the surface. Despite their computational simplicity in applications in remote sensing and scene generation, microfacet models lack the physical accuracy of wave optics models. In a previous work, Butler proposed to replace the Fresnel reflectance term of microfacet models with the Rayleigh-Rice polarization factor, Q, to create a more accurate model. This work examines the novel model that combines microfacet and wave optics terms for its accuracy in the pp and ss polarized cases individually. The model is fitted to the polarized data in …
Digital Holography Efficiency Experiments For Tactical Applications, Douglas E. Thornton
Digital Holography Efficiency Experiments For Tactical Applications, Douglas E. Thornton
Theses and Dissertations
Digital holography (DH) uses coherent detection and offers direct access to the complex-optical field to sense and correct image aberrations in low signal-to-noise environments, which is critical for tactical applications. The performance of DH is compared to a similar, well studied deep-turbulence wavefront sensor, the self-referencing interferometer (SRI), with known efficiency losses. Wave optics simulations with deep-turbulence conditions and noise were conducted and the results show that DH outperforms the SRI by 10's of dB due to DH's strong reference. Additionally, efficiency experiments were conducted to investigate DH system losses. The experimental results show that the mixing efficiency (37%) is …
Improving Detection Of Dim Targets: Optimization Of A Moment-Based Detection Algorithm, Shannon R. Young
Improving Detection Of Dim Targets: Optimization Of A Moment-Based Detection Algorithm, Shannon R. Young
Theses and Dissertations
Wide area motion imagery (WAMI) sensor technology is advancing rapidly. Increases in frame rates and detector array sizes have led to a dramatic increase in the volume of data that can be acquired. Without a corresponding increase in analytical manpower, much of these data remain underutilized. This creates a need for fast, automated, and robust methods for detecting dim, moving signals of interest. Current approaches fall into two categories: detect-before-track (DBT) and track-before-detect (TBD) methods. The DBT methods use thresholding to reduce the quantity of data to be processed, making real time implementation practical but at the cost of the …
Methodology To Analyze Tropical Cyclone Intensity From Microwave Imagery, Matthew W. Perkins
Methodology To Analyze Tropical Cyclone Intensity From Microwave Imagery, Matthew W. Perkins
Theses and Dissertations
Satellites with microwave remote sensing capabilities can be utilized to study atmospheric phenomena through high-level cloud cover (particularly cirrus), an advantage over visible and infrared bands, which only sense cloud tops. This unique capability makes microwave imagery ideal for studying the cloud structures of tropical cyclones (TCs) in detail, and relating these features to TC intensity. Techniques to estimate the intensity of TCs using infrared imagery, such as the Dvorak technique, have been used in TC forecasting for 40 years. However, due to the inherent temporal limitations of microwave imagery, no such similar technique exists for the microwave spectrum. This …
Improved Atmospheric Characterization For Hyperspectral Exploitation, Nathan P. Wurst
Improved Atmospheric Characterization For Hyperspectral Exploitation, Nathan P. Wurst
Theses and Dissertations
Airborne hyperspectral imaging (HSI) in the LWIR has shown utility in material detection and identification. This research seeks to determine the most effective methods to perform model-based atmospheric compensation of LWIR HSI data by comparing results obtained from different atmospheric profiles. The standard model for mid-latitude summer (MLS) and radiosonde data are compared to the National Operational Model Archive and Distribution System (NOMADS) numerical weather predictions and the Extreme and Percentile Environmental Reference Tables (ExPERT). The two latter atmospheric profiles are generated using the Laser Environmental Effects Definition and Reference (LEEDR) software. MLS has been a standard starting point for …
Passively Estimating Index Of Refraction For Specular Reflectors Using Polarimetric Hyperspectral Imaging, Jacob A. Martin
Passively Estimating Index Of Refraction For Specular Reflectors Using Polarimetric Hyperspectral Imaging, Jacob A. Martin
Theses and Dissertations
As off-nadir viewing platforms becoming increasingly prevalent in remote sensing, material classification and ID techniques robust to changing viewing geometries must be developed. Traditionally, either reflectivity or emissivity are used for classification, but these quantities vary with viewing angle. Instead, estimating index of refraction may be advantageous as it is invariant with respect to viewing geometry. This work focuses on estimating index of refraction from LWIR (875-1250 wavenumbers) polarimetric hyperspectral radiance measurements.
Image-Based Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function Of Human Skin In The Visible And Near Infrared, Jeffrey R. Bintz
Image-Based Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function Of Human Skin In The Visible And Near Infrared, Jeffrey R. Bintz
Theses and Dissertations
Human detection is an important first step in locating and tracking people in many missions including SAR and ISR operations. Recent detection systems utilize hyperspectral and multispectral technology to increase the acquired spectral content in imagery and subsequently better identify targets. This research demonstrates human detection through a multispectral skin detection system to exploit the unique optical properties of human skin. At wavelengths in the VIS and NIR regions of the electromagnetic spectrum, an individual can be identified by their unique skin parameters. Current detection methods base the skin pixel selection criteria on a diffuse skin reflectance model; however, it …
Comparison Of Microfacet Brdf Model To Modified Beckmann-Kirchhoff Brdf Model For Rough And Smooth Surfaces, Samuel D. Butler, Stephen E. Nauyoks, Michael A. Marciniak
Comparison Of Microfacet Brdf Model To Modified Beckmann-Kirchhoff Brdf Model For Rough And Smooth Surfaces, Samuel D. Butler, Stephen E. Nauyoks, Michael A. Marciniak
Faculty Publications
A popular class of BRDF models is the microfacet models, where geometric optics is assumed. In contrast, more complex physical optics models may more accurately predict the BRDF, but the calculation is more resource intensive. These seemingly disparate approaches are compared in detail for the rough and smooth surface approximations of the modified Beckmann-Kirchhoff BRDF model, assuming Gaussian surface statistics. An approximation relating standard Fresnel reflection with the semi-rough surface polarization term, Q, is presented for unpolarized light. For rough surfaces, the angular dependence of direction cosine space is shown to be identical to the angular dependence in the microfacet …
Experimental And Theoretical Basis For A Closed-Form Spectral Brdf Model, Samuel D. Butler
Experimental And Theoretical Basis For A Closed-Form Spectral Brdf Model, Samuel D. Butler
Theses and Dissertations
The microfacet class of BRDF models is frequently used to calculate optical scatter from realistic surfaces using geometric optics, but has the disadvantage of not being able to consider wavelength dependence. This dissertation works toward development of a closed-form approximation to the BRDF that is suitable for hyperspectral remote sensing by presenting measured BRDF data of 12 different materials at four different incident angles and up to seven different wavelengths between 3.39 and 10.6 micrometer. The data was intended to be fit to various microfacet BRDF models to determine an appropriate form of the wavelength scaling. However, when fitting the …
Development And Demonstration Of A Field-Deployable Fast Chromotomographic Imager, Daniel C. O'Dell
Development And Demonstration Of A Field-Deployable Fast Chromotomographic Imager, Daniel C. O'Dell
Theses and Dissertations
A field deployable hyperspectral imager utilizing chromotomography (CT), with a direct vision prism (DVP) as the dispersive element, has been constructed at AFIT. This research is focused on the development and demonstration of the CT imager. An overview of hyperspectral imaging, chromotomography, a synopsis of reconstruction algorithms, and other CT instruments are given. The importance of component alignment, instrument calibration, and exact prism angular position data are discussed. A simplistic \shift and add" reconstruction algorithm was utilized for this research. Although limited in its ability to reconstruct a spatially and spectrally diverse scene, the algorithm was adequate for the testing …
The Roc Curves Of Fused Independent Classification Systems, Michael B. Walsh
The Roc Curves Of Fused Independent Classification Systems, Michael B. Walsh
Theses and Dissertations
The need for optimal target detection arises in many different fields. Due to the complexity of many targets, it is thought that the combination of multiple classification systems, which can be tuned to several individual target attributes or features, might lead to more optimal target detection performance. The ROC curves of fused independent two-label classification systems may be generated by the mathematical combination of their ROC curves to achieve optimal classifier performance without the need to test every Boolean combination. The monotonic combination of two-label independent classification systems which assign labels to the same target types results in a lattice …
Improved Hyperspectral Image Testing Using Synthetic Imagery And Factorial Designed Experiments, Joseph P. Bellucci
Improved Hyperspectral Image Testing Using Synthetic Imagery And Factorial Designed Experiments, Joseph P. Bellucci
Theses and Dissertations
The goal of any remote sensing system is to gather data about the geography it is imaging. In order to gain knowledge of the earth's landscape, post-processing algorithms are developed to extract information from the collected data. The algorithms can be intended to classify the various ground covers in a scene, identify specific targets of interest, or detect anomalies in an image. After the design of an algorithm comes the difficult task of testing and evaluating its performance. Traditionally, algorithms are tested using sets of extensively ground truthed test images. However, the lack of well characterized test data sets and …
An Estimation Theory Approach To Detection And Ranging Of Obscured Targets In 3-D Ladar Data, Charles R. Burris
An Estimation Theory Approach To Detection And Ranging Of Obscured Targets In 3-D Ladar Data, Charles R. Burris
Theses and Dissertations
The purpose of this research is to develop an algorithm to detect obscured images in 3-D LADAR data. The real data used for this research was gathered using a FLASH LADAR system under development at AFRL/SNJM. The system transmits light with a wavelength of 1.55 micrometers and produces 20 128 X 128 temporally resolved images from the return pulse separated by less than 2 nanoseconds in time. New algorithms for estimating the range to a target in 3-D FLASH LADAR data were developed. Results from processing real data are presented and compared to the traditional correlation receiver for extracting ranges …
Real-Time Mapping Using Stereoscopic Vision Optimization, Kevin M. Biggs
Real-Time Mapping Using Stereoscopic Vision Optimization, Kevin M. Biggs
Theses and Dissertations
This research focuses on efficient methods of generating 2D maps from stereo vision in real-time. Instead of attempting to locate edges between objects, we make the assumption that the representative surfaces of objects in a view provide enough information to generate a map while taking less time to locate during processing. Since all real-time vision processing endeavors are extremely computationally intensive, numerous optimization techniques are applied to allow for a real-time application: horizontal spike smoothing for post-disparity noise, masks to focus on close-proximity objects, melding for object synthesis, and rectangular fitting for object extraction under a planar assumption. Additionally, traditional …
Investigation Of Geobase Implementation Issues: Case Study Of Information Resource Management, Mario L. Oliver
Investigation Of Geobase Implementation Issues: Case Study Of Information Resource Management, Mario L. Oliver
Theses and Dissertations
Billions of dollars have been wasted on failed information system (IS) projects over the last decade in the private and public sectors. More specifically, the tri-service environment of the U.S. military has not implemented a single successful geospatial IS (GIS). The lack of a service-wide insertion process for GIS was cited as the most significant cause for military GIS failures. GeoBase represents the USAF's most recent GIS implementation. The GeoBase program focuses on Information Resource Management (IRM) and cultural issues. The GeoBase Sustainment Model (GSM), anecdotally developed by GeoBase leadership to reflect implementation issues and the IRM practices of the …