TERRAIN ANALYSIS SYSTEM

Decilog designed and developed a computer-aided camouflage design tool. A video based data acquisition and image analysis system with pseudo-color output was designed, developed and installed at Natick. Multi-spectral images of scenes containing coniferous, deciduous and mixed forests, swamp bogs and orchards, were taken in 17 narrow bands from 380 to 700 nm. Techniques were developed to produce a constant gamma by means of measuring spectral irradiance in each band with a calibrated radiometer. In addition, solar irradiance was measured and a calibrated gray scale was included in each scene to guide file processing.

Successive frames of the same image were then digitized at video rates and accumulated for signal to noise improvement. Digitization produced an 8 bit (256 levels) value for each of the 512 x 512 pixels in a frame.

Interactive menu-driven software modules were written for a host computing system which guide users through a data analysis session. By using this system, the camouflage designer can determine both the colors and shapes which will cause the target to "blend into" various backgrounds.