Thermal imagers with boost: range prediction with the Johnson criteria

Range prediction for thermal imagers applying advanced signal processing is still in its infancy. Boost filters are such an advanced signal processing and here it was assessed if the achieved range when using them is in correspondence with predictions based on the Johnson criteria. Equipment in test was an under-sampled MWIR imager operating with and without five different boost filters, four different Laplace- and one Wiener-filter. Range of this imager using the different boost filter was estimated by perception experiments for identification of numbers. These ranges were compared with limiting frequencies derived from Minimum Temperature Difference Perceived (MTDP) measurements including the boost filters. The comparison showed identification range and limiting frequency derived from the MTDP in good correspondence. Thus, the Johnson Criteria should be able to correctly predict range for thermal imagers including boost-filtering. Further work includes extending the comparison to low contrast and to real targets.