Method for designing a passive single-channel imager capable of estimating depth of field

摘要

A computer-implemented method for designing an electro-optical imaging system for estimating the distance of a source includes use of an optical subsystem, a detector subsystem and a digital image processing subsystem. The method includes the modelling of the propagation of radiation from its source through the optical subsystem, the detector subsystem and the digital image processing subsystem; the modelling being based on a spatial model of the source; the method including a joint step of simultaneously designing the optical subsystem and the digital image processing subsystem, the designing step being based at least on one performance metric depending on a comparison between the local estimation of the distance from the source and the actual distance from the source.