Characterization and analysis of infrared images

Stokes images in the long-wave infrared (LWIR) and methods for processing polarimetric data continue to be areas of interest. Stokes images which are sensitive to geometry and material differences are acquired by measuring the polarization state of the received electromagnetic radiation. The polarimetric data from Stokes images may provide enhancements to conventional IR imagery data. It is generally agreed that polarimetric images can reveal information about objects or features within a scene that are not available through other imaging techniques. This additional information may generate different approaches to segmentation, detection, and recognition of objects or features. Previous research where horizontal and vertical polarization data is used supports the use of this type of data for image processing tasks. In this work we analyze a sample polarimetric image to show both improved segmentation of objects and derivation of their inherent 3-D geometry.