Spectral band invariant wavelet-modified MACH filter

Filters synthesized with images of a specific spectral band in general fail to recognize targets in a different spectral band. In this paper, we therefore demonstrate the use of the wavelet-modified maximum average correlation height (WaveMACH) filter for automatic target recognition applications in both the visible and infrared (IR) spectral bands. As any input target appears different when imaged through two different sensors, i.e., a CCD or an IR camera, a WaveMACH filter synthesized using a CCD image shows no correlation with the image of the same target from an IR camera and vice-versa. Hence, separate filters are required to match the input targets from the two sensors. To avoid the synthesis and storage of separate filters, the images from CCD and IR camera are fused using Daubechies wavelet and then the rotation-invariant WaveMACH filter generated with the fused image. In all, 18 WaveMACH filters (each of 20° range) are required for in-plane rotation invariance in both the spectral bands for the full range of 0–360°. Computer simulation and experimental results implemented in hybrid digital–optical correlator architecture are shown for the proposed idea. The same filters have also been used to identify multiple targets in a scene. Performance measures like peak-to-sidelobe ratio (PSR), peak correlation energy (PCE) and correlation peak intensity (CPI) have been calculated as metrics of goodness.     

Enhancing the capabilities of binary phase only filter

In this paper, we demonstrate that the capabilities of a binary phase-only filter (BPOF) can be enhanced to identify targets irrespective of rotation, scale or the imaging spectral band by utilizing the concept of log-polar transform and image fusion. Till date, BPOFs have been considered to be the simplest of all filters and incapable of identifying distorted images or images of different spectral bands like the visible or infrared (IR) bands. The novelty of this work lies in the approach adopted to demonstrate that a BPOF is equally capable of distortion-invariance like any other distortion-invariant complex matched filter. This is done by suitably fusing the images of visible and IR bands and then taking the log-polar transformation of the fused image to synthesize the BPOF. A single BPOF is thus sufficient to identify (0-360)° in-plane rotated images, (50-190)% scaled images, combination of rotation and scale changes of the target, noisy image of both the visible and IR spectral bands. A further enhancement of the correlation peak intensity (CPI) is achieved by modifying this BPOF with Mexican-hat wavelet. The designed filter was implemented in the hybrid digital-optical correlation scheme. Correlation peak intensity and peak correlation energy (PCE) have been calculated as metrics of goodness of the proposed approach. Experimental results have been presented.     

Wavelet-modified maximum average correlation height filter for out-of-plane rotation invariance

In this paper, we implement a wavelet-modified maximum average correlation height (WaveMACH) filter for recognition of 0-360° out-of-plane rotated targets employing hybrid digital-optical correlator architecture. A chirp function is used with the synthesized WaveMACH filter, which focuses the correlation signals in three different planes, thereby providing the choice of recording a single correlation peak at a particular plane. Signal-to-noise ratio and peak-to-sidelobe ratio have been calculated as metrics of goodness of the proposed WaveMACH filter.     

Correlation recognition for range image of laser radar

The target recognition of laser radar becomes hot research in recent years, because laser radar can produce high space resolution and collect rich target information, such as range image, intensity image and Doppler image. In the vertical detection of laser radar, the problem of in-plane target rotation invariance is firstly solved. In the paper, a new support vector machine (SVM) correlation filter is presented, which simultaneously has the attractive attributes of SVM and common correlation filter. Exploiting the idea of margin of separation maximization, the design criterion is produced. The filter is synthetic by the multiple training images which are generated by rotating one image. The real range images of laser radar are used to finish the correlation experiments. The results show that the filter is not sensitive to the noise, the correlation peak is changed slightly for the different testing images, and the precision of location is high.This design way can be used in other recognition fields.     

基于旋转、平移和尺度不变的平稳小波图像增强

针对传统的离散正交小波变换对信号的起始位置比较敏感的特点,提出了具有旋转、平移和尺度不变的平稳小波变换,将图像变换到极坐标,采用方向能量函数确定图像主轴方位,并将图像主轴旋转到水平方向得到方向归一化的图像。然后通过对图像的重整和小波基的位移、伸缩、旋转,来消除位移和尺度的影响,得到具有旋转、平移和尺度不变的平稳小波变换。结合非线性增强算子以及Otsu自适应最优阈值估计方法,对图像进行增强。实验结果表明,提出的方法能够在增强图像的同时很好地保留图像的边缘信息,是一种有效的图像增强方法。     

Model-based algorithm for rotation invariant target recognition using laser radar range imagery

The out-of-plane rotation invariance is demonstrated for a recognition system for laser radar (ladar) range imagery. The key of our method is to transform an original ladar range image of scene data into a height-range image. We demonstrate experimentally that our method provides the out-of-plane rotation invariance property and preserves in-plane rotation invariant characteristics at the same time. We also show experimentally the relationship between the recognition rate and depression angles.     

Translation, rotation, and scale invariant image registration technique using angular and radial difference functions

An algorithm is proposed for registering images related by translation, rotation, and scale based on angular and radial difference functions. In frequency domain, the spatial translation parameters are computed via phase correlation method. The magnitudes of images are represented in log-polar grid, and the angular and radial difference functions are given and applied to measure shifts in both angular and radial dimensions for rotation and scale estimation. Experimental results show that this method achieves the same accurate level as classic fast Fourier transform （FFT） based method with invariance to illumination change and lower computation costs.     

用相关矩阵特征判据法实现三重不变光学图像识别

本文首先在K-L变换中用相关矩阵作为特征判据进行特征压缩,然后用综合判别函数法制备空间综合匹配滤波器,可以有效地压缩特征图像数目.用这种滤波器实现了平移、旋转、尺度三重不变光学图像识别,且有较高的信噪比.     

基于相位一致性和Hough变换的多源图像配准方法

由于红外图像与可见光图像对比度不同,常用基于梯度幅值的特征匹配方法难以正确配准。在分析红外图像与可见光图像成像机制的基础上,提出了一种结合相位一致性边缘检测与Hough变换的多源图像配准新方法。该算法首先采用高通滤波和平台直方图均衡方法对红外图像进行预处理以提高红外图像的对比度,再利用具有图像对比度不变性的相位一致性边缘检测法提取两幅图像的边缘,结合Hough变换选取图像空间中最长的线作为特征,采用改进相位相关法作为相似性度量,在对数极坐标域下计算出两幅图像的几何变形参数。仿真实验结果表明,该方法能够以较高查准率实现红外与可见光图像自动配准,并具有较强的鲁棒性。     

基于人眼视觉非均匀特性的实时Mean Shift跟踪方法

由于在成像制导过程中需要实时处理大量的信息,为了在尽可能保留有效信息情况下降低计算量,采用了一种人眼视觉非均匀采样模型——对数极坐标模型,来压缩信息量以提高计算速度;另外,由于对数极坐标变换对目标形状具有旋转和缩放不变性,在跟踪非刚性变形目标时该模型能表现出很好的稳健性;考虑到在成像跟踪末段,质心、角点之类的跟踪方法会产生匹配点漂移,为了抑制匹配点漂移,采用基于目标强度特征的Mean Shift跟踪方法,并对采用Gauss核函数的Mean Shift方法进行了优化来加快计算速度;实验结果表明,该方法能够有效抑制匹配点漂移,是一个稳健的目标跟踪方法.     

Assessment of a Wiener filter synthetic discriminant function for optical correlation

The Wiener filter (WF), which has been used extensively for image restoration and signal processing, is employed for robust optical pattern recognition and classification. The WF is formulated to incorporate the in-class image (to be detected) and the out-of-class noise image (to be rejected) into a single step filter construction. It is compared with the classical matched filter (CMF) and phase-only filter (POF), demonstrating a superior discriminatory capability. The WF is incorporated into a synthetic discriminant function (SDF); correlation results show that it is tolerant to image distortion. With a 30 ° out of plane rotation between training set images, the WF SDF achieves a 100% success rate in discriminating one class of images from another. The CMF SDF and POF SDF fail to achieve 100% discrimination even at rotation increments of 15 °.     

Optical rotation invariant corner detector

In this work we introduce a new approach for corner extraction with rotation invariance. The method is based on an optical processor where the filter in the frequency plane is composed by a spiral phase function and a binary amplitude. The output image of the optical setup presents intensity peaks in each square corner location. The performance of the proposed method was tested on synthetic scenes by numerical simulations and by optical measurements. The presented results show that the method allows the corner extraction, even with rotated scenes.     

Binary phase only filters for rotation and scale invariant pattern recognition with the joint transform correlator

The joint transform correlator (JTC) is one of the two main optical image processing architecture which provides a highly effective way of comparing images in a wide range of applications. Traditionally, an optical correlator is used to compare an unknown input scene with a pre-captured reference image library, to detect if the reference occurs within the input. Strength of the correlation signal decreases rapidly as the input object rotates or varies in scale relative to the reference object. The aim of this paper is to overcome the intolerance of the JTC to rotation and scale changes in the target image. Many JTC systems are constructed with the use of ferroelectric liquid crystal (FLC) spatial light modulators (SLMs) as they provide fast two-dimensional binary modulation of coherent light. Due to the binary nature of the FLC SLMs used in the JTC systems, any image addressed to the device need to have some form of thresholding. Carefully thresholding the grey scale input plane and the joint power spectrum (JPS) has significant effect on the quality of correlation peaks and zero order (DC) noise. A new thresholding technique to binarise the JPS has been developed and implemented optically. This algorithm selectively enhances the desirable fringes in the JPS which provide correlation peaks of higher intensity. Zero order noise is further reduced when compared to existing thresholding techniques.Keeping in mind the architecture of the JTC and limitations of FLC SLMs, a new technique to design rotation and scale invariant binary phase only filters for the JTC architecture is presented. Filers design with this technique have limited dynamic range, higher discriminability among target and non-target objects, and convenience for implementation on FLC SLMs. Simulation and experiments shows excellent results of various rotation and scale invariant filters designed with this technique. A rotation invariant filter is needed for various machine vision applications of the JTC. By fixing the distance between camera and input object, the scale sensitivity of the correlator can be avoided. In contrast to the industrial machine vision applications, scale factor is very important factor for the applications of the JTC systems in defence and security. A security system using a scale invariant JTC will be able to detect a target object well in advance and will provide more time to take a decision.     

Local and global Gabor features for raised character recognition

Conventional Gabor representation and its exttacted features often yield a fairly poor performance in extracting the invariance features of objects.To address this issue,a global Gabor representation method for raised characters pressed on label is proposed in this paper,where the representation only requires few summations on the conventional Gabor filter responses.Features are then extracted from these new representations to construct the invariant features.Experimental results clearly show that the obtained global Gabor feattires provide good performance in rotation,translation,and scale invariance.Also,they are insensitive to illumination conditions and noise changes.It is proved that Gabor filters can be reliably used in olw-level feature extraction in image processing and the global Gabor features can be used to construct robust invariant recognition system.     

傅里叶-梅林变换(FMT)在畸变-不变图像识别中的应用

针对尺度缩放和角度旋转变化目标相关识别率低的问题,在联合相关识别中加入傅里叶-梅林变换方法.采用傅里叶-梅林变换(FMT)中的对数极坐标变换、梅林变换、傅里叶变换具有的旋转、尺度、平移(RST)不变性,可以提高JTC图像识别的性能,实现畸变-不变图像的识别.利用联合变换相关器对角度旋转0°～40°、尺度变化0～20%的目标进行计算机仿真实验.实验结果表明:在JTC中采用FMT可以实现畸变-不变图像的识别.     

X-ray triple-axis diffractometry investigation of Si/SiGe/Si on silicon-on-insulator subjected to in situ low-temperature annealing

X-ray triple-axis diffractometry (XRTD) was used to characterize heterostructure Si/SiGe/Si on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) subjected to in situ low-temperature annealing. Crystallographic tilt, lattice constant and relaxation percentage were examined, respectively. Two peaks have been observed in (0 0 4) reciprocal lattice mappings (RLMs) of Si layers. The (0 0 4) RLMs indicate that Si cladding is in tensile strain. We have also found two peaks with different k_∥ and k_⊥ in (1 1 3) asymmetric RLMs of Si layers. It is deduced from comprehensive analyses on (0 0 4) and (1 1 3) RLMs that Ge diffusion and in-plane tensile strain lead to 2θ shift of the Si layers underneath SiGe layer in (0 0 4) RLMs. And the diffusion concentration of Ge accurately determined by XRTD is mole fraction 0.84%.     

Perpendicular magnetization in Fe/Ni bilayers on GaAs(0 0 1)

Following the concept of spin-injection into a semiconductor-based device, a ferromagnetic element (like a GMR multilayer structure) can be used as a spin filter. A high spin-polarization of the electrons can be realized by the preparation of a monocrystalline multilayer structure consisting of ultrathin films of a high magnetic polarization. In the case of ultrathin films, the manipulation of the easy-axis of magnetization is possible, by changing the anisotropy terms contributing to the effective anisotropy of the structure. We report on the structural and magnetic properties of Ni/Fe and Fe/Ni bilayers epitaxially grown on GaAs(0 0 1). By a proper choice of Fe and Ni sequences (Fe/Ni/GaAs) and their thickness (up to 3 ML of Fe on the top of Ni), the rotation of magnetization from the in-plane to the out-of-plane direction was achieved.     

Room-temperature ferromagnetism and in-plane magnetic anisotropy characteristics of nonpolar GaN:Mn films

Diluted magnetic nonpolar GaN:Mn films have been fabricated by implanting Mn ions into nonpolar a-plane () p-type GaN films and a subsequent rapid thermal annealing process. The ferromagnetism properties of the films were studied by means of superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID). Clearly in-plane magnetic anisotropy characteristics of the sample at 10 K were revealed with the direction of the applied magnetic field rotating along the in-plane [0 0 0 1]-axis. Moreover, obvious ferromagnetic properties of the sample up to 350 K were detected by means of the temperature-dependent SQUID.     

A crystallographic orientation transition and early stage growth characteristics of thin Bi films on HOPG

We report on the growth of ultra-thin bismuth films on the basal plane of highly ordered pyrolitic graphite (HOPG) substrates. Scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy have been used to characterize the morphology, and the crystallographic orientation was obtained using electron back scatter diffraction. Low coverage films are comprised of islands with a striped surface morphology, and show the orientation relationship with preferred in-plane orientations . With increasing film thickness, we identify an unusual orientation transformation to the commonly found Bi{0 0 0 1} (trigonal) orientation.     

Fractal growth of deposited films in tokamaks

Surface topography of some amorphous films from the T-10 tokamak has been analyzed by using the scanning tunnel microscope. Film surfaces on the scale from ∼10 nm to ∼100 μm have stochastic topography and a hierarchy of granularity. Fractal geometry and statistical physics techniques have been used to study a variety of irregular films within a common framework of the invariance under scaling. Quantitative analysis of a local fracture surface has been made. Experimental probability density functions of surface height increments resemble the Cauchy distribution rather than the Gaussian function. Stochastic topography of the film surface is characterized by the Hurst exponent in the range of 0.68-0.85, indicating non-trivial self-similarity of the structure. A fractality (porosity) of deposited films has to be considered as a critical issue of the tritium inventory in fusion devices. The process of film growth on plasma-facing materials (PFMs) in tokamaks is considered in a frame of the surface growth problem.