Back-of-the-envelope image quality estimation using the national image interpretability rating scale

摘要

For an optical imaging system, the critical output is the image itself, and therefore, the quality of that image is of utmost importance. To estimate or predict the image quality (IQ), a simulation/model is typically created to yield an output image, given an imaging system and an object/scene. The IQ is typically graded based on the imaging system along with the scene. Developing an imaging simulation and creating input scenes to produce IQ results can be time-consuming, leading to a desire for a simple method to estimate the predicted IQ. This work develops a national image interpretability rating scale (NIIRS) IQ value based on simplifying assumptions for remote-sensing purposes. While the results are on the optimistic side, this back-of-the-envelope IQ estimation allows the process of developing a new imaging system to move forward more in parallel rather than in series, i.e., developing an imaging full simulation/model in parallel with designing/procuring hardware. (C) 2019 Optical Society of America