Structure Tensor-Based Infrared Small Target Detection Method for a Double Linear Array Detector

The paper focuses on the mathematical modeling of a new double linear array detector. The special feature of the detector is that image pairs can be generated at short intervals in one scan. After registration and removal of dynamic cloud edges in each image, the image differentiation-based change detection method in the temporal domain is proposed to combine with the structure tensor edge suppression method in the spatial domain. Finally, experiments are conducted, and our results are compared with theoretic analyses. It is found that a high signal-to-clutter ratio (SCR) of camera input is required to obtain an acceptable detection rate and false alarm rate in real scenes. Experimental results also show that the proposed cloud edge removal solution can be used to successfully detect targets with a very low false alarm rate and an acceptable detection rate.