The Linear Infrared Scanning Array Image Processor for the Mobile Intrusion Detection and Assessment System

The Linear Infrared Scanning Array Image Processor (LISA IP) will be used to improve the image processing capabilities of the Mobile Intrusion Detection and Assessment System (MIDAS). MIDAS is a security system designed to be quickly deployed for wide area coverage of a mobile asset. It uses two passive infrared imaging sensors, one for intruder detection and one for assessment. The intrusion detection sensor, the Linear Infrared Scanning Array (LISA), covers a 2.2 kilometer annular area. LISA produces a 360 degree infrared image once every two seconds. Intruders are detected using image processing techniques that recognize changes in the image. Locations of the changes are then used for tracking. Previously, the image processing algorithms were implemented in software. This limited the processing speed of the system and made it difficult to manipulate the images. The LISA IP is an upgrade of the LISA system. It consists of specialized image processing hardware to perform most of the image manipulation routines for target detection. In addition, the LISA IP performs clustering of detected regions and performs adaptive thresholding of images such that local detection sensitivity may be increased or decreased automatically.