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We have continued development of a system for multisensor image fusion and interactive mining based on neural models of color vision processing, learning and pattern recognition. We pioneered this work while at MIT Lincoln Laboratory, initially for color fused night vision (low-light visible and uncooled thermal imagery) and later extended it to multispectral IR and 3D ladar. We also developed a proof-of-concept system for EO, IR, SAR fusion and mining. Over the last year we have generalized this approach and developed a user-friendly system integrated into a COTS exploitation environment known as ERDAS Imagine. In this paper, we will summarize the approach and the neural networks used, and demonstrate fusion and interactive mining (i.e., target learning and search) of low-light Visible/SWIR/MWIR/LWIR night imagery, and IKONOS multispectral and high-resolution panchromatic imagery. In addition, we will demonstrate how target learning and search can be enabled over extended operating conditions by allowing training over multiple scenes. This will be illustrated for the detection of small boats in coastal waters using fused Visible/MWIR/LWIR imagery. more...

Although numerous commercial opportunities exist for automated mobility solutions, few have been realized. Mobile robot development has faltered primarily due to the absence of high quality navigation data. This paper presents CONAC (computerized opto-electronic navigation and control), a solution to the navigation gap that offers a comprehensive approach to automated mobility. The major breakthrough is the development of a practical, real-time navigation technology that is thousands of times more accurate than GPS and is usable indoors or outdoors.© (1994) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only. more...

Laser stripe sensors are being used in a variety of industrial applications including part inspection, process control, and robot guidance. Certain characteristics of the sensor such as standoff and field of view are likely to change from one application to the next. The paper describes an approach to laser stripe sensor calibration when the sensor is composed of off-the-shelf equipment. Sensor dimensions such as the position of the laser in relation to the camera and particular lens characteristics such as focal length and distortion are treated as unknown parameters in the calibration procedure presented here. The paper shows that high accuracy is attainable in range measurements acquired with off-the-shelf components and proper calibration. more...

The paper describes an approach to collision-free robot motion when the robot motion is assumed to be non-linear. The paper concentrates on the planar case.