Effect of sensor-target-background distance on target tracking using a fly eye sensor

Area of Science:

• Biomimetic sensor technology
• Computational vision systems
• Image processing applications

Background:

• The Wyoming Image and Signal Processing Research (WISPR) Laboratory developed a multi-aperture optical sensor inspired by the housefly's visual system.
• This fly eye sensor demonstrates effective edge detection across various contrast levels with low processing demands.
• Potential applications include fast motion detection and object tracking, necessitating further optimization studies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the impact of background and target distances on the fly eye sensor's performance.
• To investigate potential ambiguities and performance degradation in tracking systems.
• To evaluate mitigation strategies for distance-related sensor response variations.

Main Methods:

• Computer simulation of the fly eye sensor using MATLAB.
• Analysis of sensor response with varying target and background distances.
• Evaluation of a low-pass filter's effectiveness in mitigating distance-induced effects.

Main Results:

• Sensor response is significantly affected by the relative placement of the target and background.
• Placing the target closer to the sensor and further from the background influences the sensor's output.
• A properly designed low-pass filter can substantially reduce performance ambiguities caused by distance variations.

Conclusions:

• The distance between the target and background is a critical factor for accurate fly eye sensor-based tracking.
• Failure to account for these distance effects can lead to performance degradation and tracking errors.
• Low-pass filtering offers an effective method to mitigate these issues while maintaining acceptable sensor response.