RESEARCH
| CURRENT ACTIVE FUNDING: | $2,435,954 (6 projects) |
| CUMULATIVE FUNDING TO DATE: | $5,385,387 (20 projects) |
CURRENT-FUNDED RESEARCH CONTRACTS/GRANTS/GIFTS
Alta Pix
ALTA Latern Imaging Module
Alta Pix Incorporated (ALTA) is producing a lighter-than-air platform to be used in the collection of low-altitude aerial photography by individual "Alta Drifters" around the world. These "drifters" are expected to be individual hobbyists, corporations, and military personnel. Platform altitudes are expected to be between 50 and 200 feet above ground level (AGL) enabling extremely high-resolution imagery to be collected with low-cost equipment. The low cost and ease of use will enable membership and participation as a "drifter" by anyone wishing to become part of this community of imagery providers over areas of interest worldwide.
The scope of the RIT research is to develop a one-to-multiple camera module, capable of collecting and storing full resolution imagery on-board, while delivering low-resolution "scout" mode imagery to a web-accessible server in near real-time utilizing existing 3G cellular data networks available in most major population centers. The system will collect geolocation information and heading using GPS and imaging module attitude using on-board gyroscopes/accelerometers for each image collected.
| RIT Project Number: | 36742 |
| Funding: | $99,020 |
| Period of Performance: | August 1, 2011 to July 31, 2012 |
ITT Geospatial Systems
3D Geometry Models from WAAS Data
The intent of this work is to extend current automated 3D point cloud extraction techniques on large format Wide Area Airborne System (WAAS) data sets. ITT will provide RIT with example visible and IR WAAS data of downtown Rochester, NY. ITT will also provide support in the understanding and processing of the WAAS data such as position/orientation data and image file formats. Under this contract, RIT will provide ITT software and resulting process workflows for the automatic creation of 3D point clouds. In addition, fusion of the 3D point cloud data with the high temporal WAAS data, both visible (panchromatic) and infrared will be accomplished with the intent of creating a value added product to the data for ITT.
| RIT Project Number: | C1176 |
| Funding: | $160,000 |
| Period of Performance: | June 1, 2011 to May 31, 2012 |
National Science Foundation
NSF REU: Imaging in the Physical Sciences
The National Science Foundation (NSF) Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program, Imaging in the Physical Sciences (IPS), will introduce young scientists to research in a highly interdisciplinary environment, where cross-disciplinary team problem solving is the norm. The IPS REU has the following seven specific goals: (i) involve undergraduates from a wide range of host institution type, gender, and ethnicities in a coherent and extendable (multi-year) research experience, starting after their freshman or sophomore years; (ii) involve undergraduates originating from a specific science or engineering major in a highly interdisciplinary research environment, engaging them to work in teams across traditional disciplinary boundaries in problem-based research; (iii) expose students to the emerging field of imaging science and its many and varied application areas; (iv) encourage students to pursue graduate studies in STEM; (v) assist students in the dissemination of their research; (vi) create an ongoing research incubator environment for the students, including feedback from advisory scientist external to RIT, mentoring in public speaking, scientific writing, and social engagement; (vii) assess the implementation and impact of our REU program.
| RIT Project Number: | 31120 |
| Funding: | $220,000 |
| Period of Performance: | April 1, 2011 to October 1, 2014 |
Department of Energy
The Detection of Anamalous Vehicle Loading Using Remote Sensing Techniques
In a scenario where nuclear fuel rods are being transported in a shielded transport truck concealed as a commercial vehicle, there may be several remotely detectable signatures. Assuming that payload and shielding material would result in an anomalous increase in the overall vehicle weight, increased frictional forces on the vehicle braking mechanism will result. These increased forces would elevate temperature differences relative to other vehicle components which would be greater than those for vehicles with a standard load. In addition, an overloaded vehicle will exhibit a decreased rate of acceleration and increased diesel exhaust when starting from a stopped position and increased acoustics from engine braking while decelerating at an upcoming traffic control signal. These observables could be indirect indicators of clandestine trafficking of nuclear material.
As a detection mechanism, thermal infrared remote sensing techniques may be used from a stationary position near a traffic-controlled intersection. With knowledge of meteorological conditions at the surveilled site, relative temperature differences between the braking hub, the tire sidewall, and other portions of the vehicle can be used as indicators that the vehicle is under unusual stress due to load. A second observable is the rate of acceleration of a previously flagged suspicious vehicle. This might confirm that the vehicle is indeed carrying a heavier than normal load when compared to historical traffic at that same intersection. Diesel exhaust plume density/size may provide a third observable that may be detected with a traditional visible imaging system or the previously described thermal infrared system. Third, an acoustical sensor and traditional frequency-domain processing techniques may be able to identify vehicles exhibiting anomalous engine braking patterns due to the increased vehicle load.
| RIT Project Number: | 31057 |
| Funding: | $600,183 |
| Period of Performance: | September 28, 2010 to May 30, 2013 |
- Enhance the current capabilities of DIRSIG for the prediction of target surface temperatures by incorporating the MuSES infrared signature prediction model. MuSES will allow DIRSIG to model active targets in a complex meteorological environment with far greater fidelity than is currently possible. The interface of this model will be accomplished in such a way that other current or future temperature prediction codes may be easily used in its place.
- Improve the current automated vehicular traffic capabilities in DIRSIG by allowing for anomalous movements to occur such as unusual stops or off-road movements. RIT sees this as advantageous for a dynamic persistent surveillance scenario.
- Develop a simplified flight-planning interface to allow the modeler to quickly plan a collection scenario using a UAV type collection platform. DIRSIG can currently follow a flight plan but this requires a great deal of user interaction and modification of configuration files. RIT will evaluate existing flight planning methods in use by the DOE and the community at large and apply a best effort at integrating these existing tools. If this is not possible, a custom approach will be developed that will emulate the best features found in the existing approaches.
- Create automatic scene building for DIRSIG based upon contextual inputs including geographic information system descriptive layers and/or multi-view airborne imagery collections. The intent of this task is to greatly accelerate and automate the most time consuming task in the DIRSIG workflow, the scene creation process.
Department of Energy
Enhanced Image Rendering Engine for DIRSIG
RIT will provide directed development support and interface definition to allow the DIRSIG environment to serve as an image-rendering engine for the three-dimensional physics-based modeling being carried out by the DOE. As DIRSIG is already a first-principles physics-based environment for optical interactions at the target surface, propagation through the atmosphere, interactions with the mechanics of the sensing platform, and sensor response and artifact modeling for most available types of imaging systems in use today, the further opening of this environment to allow input from the DOE modeling community with respect to phenomenological scenarios involving nuclear nonproliferation would allow a full, end-to-end system for which the imaging product produced can serve as data for a variety of purposes such as algorithm development and testing, system design trade-off studies, and scenario-driven modality selection. Given current DIRSIG capabilities to model passive systems such as spectral and hyperspectral devices, thermal infrared sensors as well as active systems such as LIDAR and RADAR, and the physical process modeling available from current DOE researchers, this integration would enable very comprehensive system trade studies and future sensor system simulations directed at the complex nonproliferation problem. As part of this effort, RIT will:
| RIT Project Number: | 30958 |
| Funding: | $700,000 |
| Period of Performance: | September 19, 2008 to September 18, 2012 |
Department of Energy
Accurate Radiometric Temperature Measurements Using Thermal Infrared Imagery of Small Targets, Physics-Based Modeling, and Companion High-Resolution Optical Image Data Sets
A physics-based target space approach to small target temperature determination is being developed that will allow targets that are the same size as a thermal infrared sensor ground sampling distance to be interrogated for subsequent analysis.
Current approaches to this problem employ traditional frequency domain restoration techniques that are based upon an estimate of the point spread function of the sensing system. This approach, however, is subject to error for a number of reasons. The point spread function of the entire collection system includes spatial blurring due to atmospheric scattering and sensor motion. These parameters are typically not included in the solution and as such the process produce errant answers. Additionally, these traditional techniques work for targets that occupy several pixels in a scene, not for single or subpixel sized targets.
The proposed approach will use the DIRSIG synthetic image modeling code to produce hundreds or thousands of possible candidate images of the target/background under examination. Different positioning of the target relative to the sensor sampling array will be generated as well as varying background and target temperature combination. This create synthetic target space will be developed so as to include the actual scenario encountered. Image matching techniques will be used to compare the actual thermal image to each synthetic image in the target space to find the best match and therefore the most likely set of physical parameters.
A complete validation and verification of the developed technique will be carried out using modeled data, data collected from a fixed imaging platform with full control over all target space parameters, and in a real-world airborne image collection experiment. Data will be collected so that an assessment of accuracy of this proposed technique may be assessed.
| RIT Project Number: | 30830 |
| Funding: | $656,751 |
| Period of Performance: | September 19, 2008 to September 18, 2012 |
PAST-FUNDED RESEARCH CONTRACTS/GRANTS/GIFTS
Central Inteligence Agency IC Post Doctorate Fellowship Program (FY08)
Image-Based Determination of Polarized Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function For In-Field Characterization of Materials
This fellowship will focus on the development of novel experimental techniques and complementary modeling tools to accurately predict the polarized bi-directional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) of a variety of materials of interest to the remote sensing community. In addition, the research will develop a collection methodology for measuring polarized BRDF remotely for denied targets. The experimental techniques will take advantage of an image based approach to BRDF measurement with emphasis on deriving the polarized Mueller scattering matrix form of the BRDF.
| RIT Project Number: | 30866 |
| Funding: | $359,960 |
| Period of Performance: | September 4, 2008 to April 20, 2012 |
Savannah River National Laboratory / Department of Energy
Ice Characterization Using Remote Sensing Techniques
RIT is collaborating with the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) to extend the capabilities of the ALGE hydrodynamic code to include simulations of surface ice formation and melting in cooling lakes that receive heated effluent from nuclear reactors operating in cold climates and collect the data needed to validate this extended version of the ALGE code at suitable locations in the northern US or Canada. SRNL uses the ALGE code to perform technical analyses of heat-generating industrial facilities for DOE and other government agencies. At present, ALGE simulations of cooling lakes and other bodies of water being used to dissipate waste heat from nuclear reactors are restricted to ice-free conditions. This restriction prevents imagery analysis for more than one-half the year at some northern sites. The extension to the ALGE code proposed here will allow year-round applications of the code which will result in more rapid completion of technical analyses.
| RIT Project Number: | 30789 |
| Funding: | $849,971 |
| Period of Performance: | January 22, 2008 to September 30, 2011 |
Central Inteligence Agency IC Post Doctorate Fellowship Program (FY06)
Effects of Humidity On Atmospheric Transmission For Infrared Sensors
This fellowship will perform a comparative analysis of ship-based thermal infrared spectroradiometer measurements against MODTRAN simulations incorporating humidity dependent aerosol nucleation effects.
It is commonly assumed that scattering effects are negligible in the thermal infrared region. This, however, is based on standard atmospheric and aerosol models that have particle size distributions that are heavily weighted and have maximum concentrations in the sub-micron range. While particle concentrations in the super-micron range are orders of magnitude smaller than its submicron counterparts, certain conditions of high humidity may significantly increase their concentrations to levels that may impart scattering effects in the thermal infrared regions.
This hypothesis will be tested using the MODTRAN radiative transfer model (Berk 1989) coupled with the NOVAM - Navy Oceanic Vertical Aerosol Model (Gatham 1993). Given the nature of the data set from Explorer of the Seas ARM facility, this is a logical approach since oceanic aerosols will be inherent to the environment of the surface based measurements. The NOVAM model will be used to obtain first order estimates of potential aerosol effects and indicate possible aerosol nucleation mechanisms describing the concentrations of larger hygroscopic aerosols and their particle size distributions (Leeuw 1992). Currently, the NOVAM model supports three mode radii (peak of the particle size distribution) of 0.03, 0.24, and 2.0 microns. Modifications to the model to include larger mode radii will be investigated to support the thermal scattering hypothesis.
| RIT Project Number: | 30632 |
| Funding: | $239,926 |
| Period of Performance: | August 17, 2006 to February 16, 2009 |
DP Instruments / Environmental Protection Agency
Gaseous Effluent Detection System
RIT will perform a system integration of the DP Instruments MARLIN high-speed FTIR spectrometer with a FLIR Systems GasFindIR camera to create a bore-sighted or common-optic system capable of imaging effluent gas plumes and making spectral signature measurements at a central location in the field of view. RIT will further perform a proof-of-concept field study with this system against controlled gas releases. Once the data is collected, RIT will continue to analyze this data by producing an analysis software capability to perform gas identification and volume/rate-of-release estimations.
| RIT Project Number: | 30603/30652 |
| Funding: | $47,400 |
| Period of Performance: | May 1, 2006 to November 30, 2006 |
Savannah River National Laboratory / Department of Energy
Exploitation Tool For Mechanical Draft Cooling Towers
RIT will provide support to gain insight into the phenomenology that influences the radiance field leaving the interior of a mechanical-draft cooling tower (MDCT). The DIRSIG modeling capability will be enhanced such that the models produced reflect, as accurately as possible, the actual data gathered with real airborne infrared imaging systems. These modeling efforts will focus on the phenomenology associated with "cavern-like" targets with numerous material types internally contained. This effort will be cyclical in nature with modeling approaches continually modified based on newly discovered phenomenology observed in real image data. The desired outcome of the modeling will be accurate internal-element emissivities and temperatures for the components that comprise the cooling tower for use with an external process model developed by Savannah River National Laboratory.
| RIT Project Number: | 30571 |
| Funding: | $457,820 |
| Period of Performance: | February 2, 2006 to June 30, 2009 |
MITRE Corporation / Central Intelligence Agency
ITIC Spectroradiometry Program Support
RIT will provide support to the government as a critical participant in the National Signatures Program (NSP) working group monthly meetings. The NSP is responsible for the establishment of spectral measurements standards for solid, liquid, and gaseous materials. Standards in the form of measurement methodologies, formats, metadata, etc. fall within the purview of this group. RIT has been asked to be the representative for the government organization that funds and oversees this program to provide guidance, experience, and critical review to/of this programs efforts and to report back to the supporting organization with impressions and advice.
| RIT Project Number: | 30517/30654 |
| Funding: | $56,289 |
| Period of Performance: | February 1, 2005 to July 31, 2007 |
National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) - LASS 2004/05 (CLIN 002)
Spectral Database Development
RIT will provide support through the Laboratory for Advanced Spectral Sensing for the development of an enhanced full spectrum material reflectance database to support more realistic simulations in the DIRSIG model. Current database holdings will be evaluated and test plan developed and executed to provide additional spectra to fill in voids in the current database.
| RIT Project Number: | 30483 |
| Funding: | $40,000 |
| Period of Performance: | November 1, 2004 to May 31, 2006 |
Mission Research Corporation / Air Force Research Laboratory (WPAFB)
Calibration Test Target Development For Longwave Infrared Test Chambers
RIT will be providing modeling support in the development of calibration test targets for longwave infrared (IR) test chamber characterization. RIT will utilize its DIRSIG model to represent the interior environment of the IR test chamber located at the WPAFB facility and the potential calibration targets that will be used, performing trade-off and optimization studies as top the efficacy of the designs to choose the proper target to manufacture. RIT will also place certain targets of interest into a cluttered IR background to assist in the design of future chambers with enhanced background capability.
| RIT Project Number: | 30463 |
| Funding: | $150,009 |
| Period of Performance: | June 15, 2004 to November 11, 2005 |
ITT Industries / Space Systems Division (ICAP)
Three-Band Temperature Extraction Algorithm
RIT will provide support for the development of new and/or evaluation of existing temperature extraction methodologies for infrared imagery. Techniques using a single band, multiple band, or multispectral/hyperspectral image data will be within the scope of this task. RIT will provide modeling support to produce synthetic imagery for evaluation of these algorithms using DIRSIG as requested. This support will may be in the form of assistance in the development of specific sensor models, specific imaging scenarios, and/or to provide a robust data set as a test-bed for new and existing algorithms. RIT will attend community meetings to report on the algorithm and modeling tasks as well as to provide critical review and/or insight into other proposed methodologies.
| RIT Project Number: | 30459 |
| Funding: | $188,873 |
| Period of Performance: | May 1, 2004 to September 30, 2006 |
New York State Office of Cyber Security and Critical Infrastructure Coordination
Selective Degradation Algorithm For Air Photo Imagery Database Applications
RIT will be providing a software tool that will allow the NYS OCSCIC to selectively degrade their online statewide library of aerial photographs to protect critical infrastructure information. As part of the Homeland Security initiative afoot in New York State, the OCSCIC desires a tool that would let them selectively degrade the resolution of their archives of air photos that are available to the public so that potential organizations that would aspire to do harm to these facilities do not have high quality data available to them, while maintaining the quality of the data in other regions for legitimate users. RIT will develop this software tool to key off of OSCCIC supplied shape files and apply the degradation to the library of imagery.
| RIT Project Number: | 33315 |
| Funding: | $21,039 |
| Period of Performance: | April 4, 2004 to September 4, 2004 |
BAE Systems
Dynamic Range Adjust Algorithm For Forward-Looking Infrared Imagers
RIT will be utilizing funds provided to the current capital campaign by BAE Systems to support a graduate student in Imaging Science. The student will work on a project of interest to both RIT and BAE Systems for their thesis research project. The student will spend a Summer quarter working at BAE Systems with their scientist and engineers to gain real-world experience during their academic work.
| RIT Project Number: | 20157 |
| Funding: | $34,306 |
| Period of Performance: | December 1, 2003 to November 30, 2004 |
Pictometry International Corporation / CEIS
Automated Tie-Point Selection From Oblique Air Photo Imagery
RIT is determining the feasibility of automated tie point identification on numerous oblique air photos collected with the Pictometry system. Once a feasible approach is identified, RIT will be developing prototype software to assist Pictometry in this now largely manual process. This research was funded in part by CEIS, a NYSTAR-designated Center for Advanced Technology.
| RIT Project Number: | 36291/C3320/33320 |
| Funding: | $26,300 |
| Period of Performance: | September 5, 2003 to September 4, 2004 |
LaSen, Incorporated / Army Research Laboratory
Feasibility Study For Incorporating LIDAR Into DIRSIG
RIT performed two (2) tasks for LaSen, Incorporated in support of their aircraft-based LIDAR system. RIT investigated the feasibility of modeling a LaSen midwave infrared LIDAR system using DIRSIG with particular attention to spectral resolution, pulse generation, ground resolution, and atmospheric interaction. In addition, RIT made several high-spectral resolution reflectance measurements in the 3 to 5 micron region to aid in current exploitation task being carried out by the sponsor.
| RIT Project Number: | 30903 |
| Funding: | $7,000 |
| Period of Performance: | May 1, 2003 to September 30, 2003 |
General Dynamics / National Air Intelligence Center
NAIC Spectral Exploitation Center Spectral Library Support
RIT is supporting the NAIC Spectral Exploitation Center (NSEC) Spectral Library Support initiative by developing laboratory and field spectral library protocols to assure high quality spectral measurements are provide to the library expansion task. In addition, RIT personnel and students are measuring the spectral signatures of materials supplied by the library expansion team as well as those encountered during field exercises using laboratory and field spectrometers. Spectral reflectance measurements are being made from 0.35 through 20 microns for all materials.
| RIT Project Number: | 30340 |
| Funding: | $470,540 |
| Period of Performance: | October 16, 2002 to September 20, 2004 |