High accuracy registration and targeting

Advanced programs at BAE SYSTEMS-Mission Solutions has implemented high accuracy registration and targeting (HART) unit, which is a system for automated, multi-sensor, multi-date, image-to-image registration. HART combines N-image registration with a rigorous photogrammetric adjustment algorithm to achieve an automatic and precise geopositioning of imagery. HART is comprised of three top-level functions: the edge extraction, edge matching, and photogrammetric adjustment functions. The edge extractor detects sensor-invariant edges in an area-of-interest (AOI) at three levels of resolution. The multiresolution edge matcher correlates those edges within the AOI. The photogrammetric adjustment function updates the sensor support data for all the imagery over the AOI. We describe applications of HART to automatically register synthetic aperture radar (SAR), infrared, and electrooptical images within 2-pixel accuracy for use in the areas of mapping, targeting and data fusion