Active imaging through dense fog by utilizing the joint polarization defogging and denoising optimization based on...

Area of Science:

• Optics and Photonics
• Image Processing
• Remote Sensing

Background:

• Imaging in scattering media like fog is crucial for military and civilian applications.
• Dense fog severely degrades image quality, limiting current defogging techniques.
• Existing methods fail in extreme fog conditions, necessitating advanced solutions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an advanced imaging technique for clear target detection in dense fog.
• To enhance image clarity and detail recovery under severe weather conditions.
• To overcome the limitations of existing defogging methods in high-fog concentrations.

Main Methods:

• A joint active polarization defogging and denoising optimization method based on range-gated detection.
• Analysis of signal, backscattering, and forward scattering light properties.
• Utilizing polarization differences to eliminate backscattering and BM3D algorithm for forward scattering removal.

Main Results:

• Achieved clear imaging of targets in fog with optical thickness up to 5.
• Successfully recovered target contour and detailed information.
• Demonstrated superior performance over existing methods in dense fog, yielding high contrast and SNR.

Conclusions:

• The proposed range-gated imaging technique effectively clears dense fog for target imaging.
• This method offers significant improvements for target detection and recognition in adverse weather and turbid environments.
• Shows widespread application potential in military, civilian, and underwater imaging.