1. A method of obtaining registration information indicative of a misregistration between first and second images of a target, comprising:
edge filtering the first image to produce a first edge-filtered image;
edge filtering the second image to produce a second edge-filtered image;
phase correlating the first and second edge filtered images to produce a phase correlation image; and
using the phase correlation image to determine the registration information.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein said edge filtering steps include partially differentiating the image relative to respective along-track and cross-track directions of the image.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein said using step includes identifying a maximum value of the phase correlation image.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein said using step includes filtering the phase correlation image to produce a filtered phase correlation image.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein said step of filtering the phase correlation image includes edge filtering the phase correlation image.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein said step of edge filtering the phase correlation image includes edge filtering the phase correlation image in only one of a cross-track direction and an along-track direction of the phase correlation image.
7. The method of claim 4, wherein said using step includes identifying a mid-point between maximum and minimum values of the filtered phase correlation image.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein the first and second images are respectively obtained from first and second spectral bands that differ from one another.
9. The method of claim 8, wherein the first spectral band is a MWIR band, and wherein the second spectral band is one of a VNIR band and a TIR band.
10. The method of claim 1, wherein the first and second images are obtained from a common spectral band.
11. The method of claim 1, including edge filtering a third image of the target to produce a third edge filtered image, phase correlating the first and third edge filtered images to produce a further phase correlation image, and using the further phase correlation image to determine registration information indicative of a misregistration between the first and third images.
12. The method of claim 11, wherein the first, second and third images are obtained respectively from first, second and third spectral bands that each differ from one another.
13. The method of claim 12, wherein the first, second and third spectral bands are MWIR, VNIR and TIR bands, respectively.
14. A method of obtaining registration information for use in registering images of a target produced by a plurality of separate sensor arrangements, comprising:
providing sets of images of the target, each set of images produced by a respectively corresponding one of the sensor arrangements;
for each set of images, edge filtering each of the images to produce respectively corresponding edge-filtered images, phase correlating a plurality of pairs of the edge-filtered images to produce a corresponding plurality of phase correlation images, and using the phase correlation images to determine registration information indicative of misregistrations between images of the set; and
selecting from each of the sets of images a portion of that set of images, edge filtering each of the portions to produce respectively corresponding edge-filtered portions, phase correlating a plurality of pairs of the edge-filtered portions to produce a corresponding plurality of phase correlation portions, and using the phase correlation portions to determine registration information indicative of misregistrations between the sets of images.
15. The method of claim 14, wherein each said portion is a portion of one of the images of the associated set of images.
16. The method of claim 14, wherein the images of each set are obtained from respective spectral bands that differ from one another, and wherein all of said image portions are obtained from a common spectral band.
17. An apparatus for obtaining registration information indicative of a misregistration between first and second images of a target, comprising:
an edge filter for edge filtering the first and second images to produce first and second edge-filtered images;
a phase correlator coupled to said edge filter for phase correlating the first and second edge-filtered images to produce a phase correlation image; and
a registration determiner coupled to said phase correlator for determining the registration information based on the phase correlation image.
18. The apparatus of claim 17, including a filter coupled between said phase correlator and said registration determiner for filtering the phase correlation image to produce a filtered phase correlation image, said registration determiner for determining the registration information in response to the filtered phase correlation image.
19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein said last-mentioned filter is an edge filter.
20. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the first and second images are respectively obtained from first and second spectral bands that differ from one another.
21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the first spectral band is a MWIR band, and wherein the second spectral band is one of a VNIR band and a TIR band.
22. A method of obtaining registration information indicative of a misregistration between first and second images of a target, comprising:
edge filtering the first image to produce a first edge-filtered image;
edge filtering the second image to produce a second edge-filtered image;
phase correlating the first and second edge filtered images to produce a phase correlation image; and
determining the registration information by edge filtering the phase correlation image in only one of a cross-track direction and an along-track direction of the phase correlation image to produce a filtered phase correlation image.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A method for storing received information in a memory, comprising the steps of:
separating the received information into the primary and secondary parts;
reallocating the memory to establish a secondary information part storage location for
storing the secondary part of the incoming information, and
storing the first part the incoming information in a designated storage location in memory.
2. The method according to claim 1 further including the step of uniquely associating the secondary part of the received information with the primary part of the received information so the secondary part gets retrieved upon retrieval of the primary part.
3. The method according to claim 1 further including the steps of:
receiving first and second received information, each having primary and secondary parts; and
associating the secondary parts of first and second received information with the primary part of the second and first information, respectively.
4. The method according to claim 1 further comprising the step of tagging the primary and secondary parts of the received information to identify suitability of the primary and secondary parts of the received information for an electronic device.
5. The method according to claim 1 wherein the reallocation step further comprises the step of reallocating a storage area, assignable without intervention, to now receive the secondary part of the received information.
6. The method according to claim 1 wherein the primary part of the received contains data directing downloading of the secondary part of the received information.
7. A method for storing received information in a memory, comprising the steps of:
determining whether the received information has a size exceeding that of a designated storage location in the memory, and if so,
separating the received information into the primary and secondary parts;
reallocating the memory to establish a secondary information part storage location for
storing the secondary part of the incoming information, and
storing the first part the incoming information in the designated storage location in memory.
8. The method according to claim 7 further including the step of uniquely associating the secondary part of the received information with the primary part of the received information so the secondary part gets retrieved upon retrieval of the primary part.
9. The method according to claim 7 further including the steps of:
receiving first and second received information, each having primary and secondary parts; and
associating the secondary parts of first and second received information with the primary part of the second and first information, respectively.
10. The method according to claim 7 further comprising the step of tagging the primary and secondary parts of the received information to identify suitability of the primary and secondary parts of the received information for an electronic device.
11. The method according to claim 7 wherein the reallocation step further comprises the step of reallocating a storage area, assignable without intervention, to now receive the secondary part of the received information.
12. The method according to claim 7 wherein the primary part of the received information contains data directing downloading of the secondary part of the received information.