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Passive millimeter wave (pmmW) imagers are quickly becoming practical sensor candidates for military and nonmilitary tasks. Our focus was to adapt the Night Vision [U.S. Army Research Development and Engineering Command, Communications and Electronics Research Development and Engineering Center, Night Vision and Electronics Sensors Directorate (NVESD)] passive thermal infrared imager performance models and apply them to pmmW imaging systems for prediction of field performance for the task of small watercraft and boat identification. The Night Vision Lab's infrared sensor model has been evolving since the 1950s, with the most current model being NVThermIP [Night Vision Thermal and Image Processing (NVThermIP) Model Users Manual, Rev. 9 (U.S. Army RDECON, CERDEC, NVESD, 2006)]. It has wide recognition as an engineering tool for sensor evaluation. This effort included collecting pmmW signatures for a representative set of targets, conducting an observer perception experiment, and deriving the task difficulty criteria that can be used in NVThermIP for identification of boats. The task difficulty criteria are used by designers and managers to create systems capable of meeting specific performance criteria in the field. [c] 2010 Optical Society of America OCIS codes: 040.6808, 040.2235, 110.6820, 110.6795.

In the last half-decade, the extended shortwave infrared (eSWIR) atmospheric band has become a focus of investigation for its potential to provide better object discrimination at range than the visible, as well as the near, shortwave, midwave, and longwave infrared bands, particularly in degraded visual environments such as smoke, dust, and smog. However, any detection band is only as useful as the best available detector, and thus, an investigation into the design of detectors for use in the eSWIR band is necessary before standards are established and applications put into practice. We examine the relationship between detector parameters and targeting performance in the eSWIR band for both passive and active detection. The effects of pixel pitch, dark current, read noise, frame rate, quantum efficiency, and well depth are examined and ranked in importance to an eSWIR system's performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Longwave infrared (LWIR) and midwave infrared (MWIR) UAV signature data have been acquired and analyzed in collaboration with L3 Technologies, and we present intensity and root sum square delta T for two rotorcraft unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), including the popular DJI Phantom 4 and DJI Inspire, at 0-, 45-, and 90-deg aspect angles. Signature measurements are conducted in the field with clear sky, cloudy, and land backgrounds. We compare MWIR values to that of LWIR for the following criteria: aspect angle, background type, and UAV type. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Outgoing Editor-in-Chief Ron Driggers shares his parting thoughts and hopes for the Applied Optics community in the coming year.

Editor-in-Chief Ron Driggers reports on some key indicators of Applied Optics' success.

Editor-in-Chief Ron Driggers summarizes the current state of Applied Optics and its plans for 2020.

Editor-in-Chief Ron Driggers announces changes to the Engineering and Laboratory Notes section of Applied Optics.

Editor-in-Chief Ron Driggers reports on some key indicators of Applied Optics' success.

Editor-in-Chief Ron Driggers shares a recent adventure, encourages readers to experience the upcoming total solar eclipse in the U.S., and announces that he has accepted a faculty position.

Editor-in-Chief Ron Driggers discusses common ways that articles can include plagiarism and how to avoid them.

Editor-in-Chief Ron Driggers cautions authors to avoid using trademarked or copyrighted content in a journal publication.

Editor-in-Chief Ron Driggers reflects on another successful year for Applied Optics and discusses the journal's efforts to publish institutional feature issues.