Infrared active polarimetric imaging system controlled by image segmentation algorithms: application to decamouflage

We describe an active polarimetric imager with laser illumination at 1.5 µm that can generate any illumination and analysis polarization state on the Poincar sphere. Thanks to its full polarization agility and to image analysis of the scene with an ultrafast active-contour based segmentation algorithm, it can perform adaptive polarimetric contrast optimization. We demonstrate the capacity of this imager to detect manufactured objects in different types of environments for such applications as decamouflage and hazardous object detection. We compare two imaging modes having different number of polarimetric degrees of freedom and underline the characteristics that a polarimetric imager aimed at this type of applications should possess. © (2016) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.