Abstract
Recording and identifying faint objects through atmospheric scattering media by an optical system are fundamentally interesting and technologically important. In this work, we introduce a comprehensive model that incorporates contributions from target characteristics, atmospheric effects, imaging system, digital processing, and visual perception to assess the ultimate perceptible limit of geometrical imaging, specifically the angular resolution at the boundary of visible distance. The model allows to reevaluate the effectiveness of conventional imaging recording, processing, and perception and to analyze the limiting factors that constrain image recognition capabilities in atmospheric media. The simulations were compared with the experimental results measured in a fog chamber and outdoor settings. The results reveal general good agreement between analysis and experimental, pointing out the way to harnessing the physical limit for optical imaging in scattering media. An immediate application of the study is the extension of the image range by an amount of 1.2 times with noise reduction via multi-frame averaging, hence greatly enhancing the capability of optical imaging in the atmosphere.
Abstract (translated)
通过一个光学系统对大气散射介质中记录和识别微弱物体的过程既有趣又具有技术重要性。在这项工作中，我们介绍了一个全面的模型，该模型结合了目标特征、大气效应、成像系统、数字处理和视觉感知等因素，来评估几何成像的最终可感知极限，特别是可见距离边界处的角分辨率。该模型允许重新评估传统成像记录、处理和感知的效果，并分析限制图像识别能力的大气媒体中的限制因素。通过与雾室和户外设置的实验结果进行比较，结果显示分析结果与实验结果之间存在很好的一致性，指出了在散射介质中利用物理极限进行光学成像的方法。本研究的直接应用是在大气中通过多帧平均降噪扩展图像范围，从而极大地增强了大气中光学成像的能力。
URL
https://arxiv.org/abs/2404.15082
