Image analysis via fuzzy reasoning approach: prototype applications at NASA

A set of imaging techniques based on the fuzzy reasoning (FR) approach was built for NASA at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) to perform complex real-time visual-related safety prototype tasks, such as detection and tracking of moving foreign objects debris (FOD) during the NASA Space Shuttle liftoff and visual anomaly detection on slidewires used in the emergency egress system for Space Shuttle at the launch pad. The system capability was used as well during the imaging analysis of the Space Shuttle Columbia accident. These FR-based imaging techniques include novel adaptive image segmentation, edge extraction, and image enhancement. Commercially available probabilistic neural network (PNN) scheme was also used along with this set of FR-based imaging techniques to add powerful learning and image classification capabilities. NASA filed for patents on these FR-based imaging techniques and is currently offering them for their commercialization.