Development of a model for an objective minimum resolvable temperature difference characterization of an infrared camera

The parameter almost universally adopted by the infrared community for describing the overall performance of a thermal imaging camera is the minimum resolvable temperature difference. Unfortunately, this criterion is subjectively determined by a group of observers and as a consequence significantly varying results can be obtained at different times. This project describes work on an approach which ultimately aims to replace the observers by a computer-aided installation that simulates the human process by which the MRTD is estimated. The simulation is based on a direct measurement of signal to noise ratio in the image of the target and a determination of the target temperature difference which produces a signal to noise ratio equal to a pre-set threshold value. The primordial step consisted of successfully capturing a digital image in real time from a 320 X 244 CCD with Schottky-barrier detectors infrared camera. The image processing equipment needed for this task is made up of MaxVideo boards from Datacube, inc. Subjectively evaluated MRTDs at various spatial frequencies and the results obtained from this method are compared