Simulating the operation of millimeter-wave imaging systems

This paper describes how an open source 3D computer modelling, animation and visualization software package was modified to simulate the millimeter-wave imaging process. The data that describes the scene is specified with a network of interconnected planar triangular polygons. Each polygon is assigned a material type that defines a number of attributes such as thickness, and temperature, the material can also define the optical properties using refractive index or reflectivity, transmission and emissivity. The Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF) can also be used for reflection from rough surfaces. The scene, which may contain human figures can be animated to show movement. The paper describes the key elements of the radiometric model and how a post processing technique allows a range of different types of imagers to be simulated with noise and depth of field. The paper concludes with some examples and a discussion of how accurate such a modeling approach can be.