Image quality assessment of thermal images for Maritime surveillance applications

Abstract

Maritime surveillance systems employing thermal imaging encounter numerous challenges, where image quality significantly affects their effective range of vision. Adverse weather conditions such as haze, fog, and smog can obscure thermal imaging scenes, complicating the detection, identification, and tracking of objects of interest. For instance, these systems must track moving ships from a considerable distance using thermal imaging, while adapting to dynamic backgrounds and various weather conditions. Image quality assessment, a crucial research area, evaluates the perceived quality of an image. Standards for quantifying images often align with human perception, adopting user-focused approaches that consider an observer's ability to perform specific tasks, as outlined in the Johnson criteria. However, in real-time maritime surveillance applications, these criteria may prove inadequate in capturing image properties. This study explores the general factors that measure the dynamic range of marine surveillance thermal images, along with specific challenges in interpreting images using various quality assessment parameters.