FUSION OF THE OPTICAL AND RADAR IMAGES OF THE LAND SURFACE IN MULTI-POSITION ON-BOARD SYSTEMS FOR OPERATIONAL MONITORING

The issues of image fusion in a two-position small-size radar on-board operational monitoring system are considered. The aim of present research is to develop a method for fusion of images of the land surface based on data obtained from a multi-sensor spatially distributed on-board location system implemented on the basis of a UAV. The method of combining different-angle location images is implemented iteratively. At each iteration, there is a search for pairs of points of the contour of the isolated areas. Areas are highlighted using two image segmentation methods. The final result is a proposed method for information fusion from a two-position on-board small-sized radar system and an optical location system. The implemented method of fusion makes it possible to increase the information content, quality and reliability of information about the observed underlying surfaces and the physical objects detected on them. The practical significance of the results obtained lies in the formation of integral information in real time in the interests of environmental reconnaissance, monitoring in hard-to-reach and dangerous places for human life, as well as in order to promptly prevent natural and man-made emergencies.

Multi-Aperture Optical System of Photon Counting in the Image for Aberration-Free Space Debris Observations through a Turbulent Atmosphere (Part I)

The paper solves the problem of space debris monitoring to ensure the safety of space exploration. Space debris fragments are small-sized control objects with angular sizes up to 0.002 arcsecond. Therefore, optoelectronic systems of high resolution and permeability allowing one to measure the coordinates and recognize these weak control objects with a given accuracy and probability having integral brightness up to +18 stellar magnitude are necessary for the location (search, detection, measurement, and identification) of space debris fragments. To solve the optical location problems of space debris the Part I of the article proposes the concept of building a ground-based optoelectronic control system. The system consists of three consecutive and interrelated information channels: an image formation channel based on the matrix of individual telescopes and aperture synthesis technology; image detection channel based on scanning raster detectors and photon counting technology in the image; and image processing channel based on digital correlation compensation technology of atmospheric distortions. Advantages of a matrix of separate telescopes, photodetection and correlation processing are noted in the article. The proposed concept is protected by a patent of the Russian Federation, which is discussed in detail in Part II.

Optical and Spectral Methods for Detection and Recognition of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

The paper considers a problem of detection and identification of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) against the animate and inanimate objects and identification of their load by optical and spectral optical methods. The state-of-the-art analysis has shown that, when using the radar methods to detect small UAVs, there is a dead zone for distances of 250-700 m, and in this case it is important to use optical methods for detecting UAVs.The application possibilities and improvements of the optical scheme for detecting UAVs at long distances of about 1-2 km are considered. Location is performed by intrinsic infrared (IR) radiation of an object using the IR cameras and thermal imagers, as well as using a laser rangefinder (LIDAR). The paper gives examples of successful dynamic detection and recognition of objects from video images by methods of graph theory and neural networks using the network FasterR-CNN, YOLO and SSD models, including one frame received.The possibility for using the available spectral optical methods to analyze the chemical composition of materials that can be employed for remote identification of UAV coating materials, as well as for detecting trace amounts of matter on its surface has been studied. The advantages and disadvantages of the luminescent spectroscopy with UV illumination, Raman spectroscopy, differential absorption spectroscopy based on a tunable UV laser, spectral imaging methods (hyper / multispectral images), diffuse reflectance laser spectroscopy using infrared tunable quantum cascade lasers (QCL) have been shown.To assess the potential limiting distances for detecting and identifying UAVs, as well as identifying the chemical composition of an object by optical and spectral optical methods, a described experimental setup (a hybrid lidar UAV identification complex) is expected to be useful. The experimental setup structure and its performances are described. Such studies are aimed at development of scientific basics for remote detection, identification, tracking, and determination of UAV parameters and UAV belonging to different groups by optical location and spectroscopy methods, as well as for automatic optical UAV recognition in various environments against the background of moving wildlife. The proposed problem solution is to combine the optical location and spectral analysis methods, methods of the theory of statistics, graphs, deep learning, neural networks and automatic control methods, which is an interdisciplinary fundamental scientific task.