Imaging and laser profiling for airborne target classification

Passive optical imaging for long range target classification has its practical limitations due to the demand on high transverse sensor resolution associated with small pixel sizes, long focal lengths and large aperture optics. It is therefore motivated to look for 1D laser range profiling for target classification which can preserve high resolution in the depth domain. Laser range profiling is attractive because the maximum range can be substantial, especially for a small laser beam width. A range profiler can also be used in a scanning mode to detect targets within a certain sector and can also be used for active imaging when the target comes closer and is angular resolved. Although the profiling may by itself be sufficient for target classification the discrimination capabilities among a group of anticipated targets candidates may be uncertain due to uncertainty in the target aspect angles, atmospheric effects and sensor limitations. It is therefore motivated to look at a sensor fusion approach in which the profiling data is combined with imaging data even when these data have a rather low resolution. Example of both simulated and experimental data will be investigated and analyzed for target classification purposes.