Effective small target enhancement and detection in infrared images using saliency map and image intensity

In this paper, we propose a small target enhancement and detection method for infrared (IR) images in complex backgrounds. The detection of targets obtained from infrared search and track systems is very important in the military field. However, the accurate detection of small targets in complex backgrounds with a variety of clutter and sensor noise remains difficult. Therefore, with the aim of enhancing and detecting small targets in complex backgrounds, the proposed method applies a saliency map to enhance targets using their shape and temperature information. Additionally, a target detection technique is proposed that uses image intensity and distance information. The experimental results indicate that the proposed method can efficiently enhance and detect targets in various IR images.