Author

Paul F. Dolce

Date of Award

3-11-2011

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Department

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

First Advisor

Stephen C. Cain, PhD.

Abstract

LADAR (LAser Detection and Ranging) systems can be used to provide 2-D and 3-D images of scenes. Generally, 2-D images possess superior spatial resolution but without range data due to the density of their focal plane arrays. A 3-D LADAR system can produce range to target data at each pixel, but lacks the 2-D system's superior spatial resolution. The 3-D system is limited by its hardware, specifically its imaging array. Currently developers are investigating ways to change the pixel size in the 3-D LADAR imaging array, but the costs of this research is quite expensive and technically robust. It is the goal of this work to develop an algorithm using an Expectation Maximization approach to estimate both 3-D LADAR range and the bias associated with a 3-D LADAR system. The algorithm developed demonstrates both spatial and range resolution improvement over standard interpolation techniques using both real and simulated 3-D and 2-D LADAR data.

AFIT Designator

AFIT-GE-ENG-11-09

DTIC Accession Number

ADA540041

Included in

Optics Commons

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