System theoretical aspects for designing opto-electronic sensors for remote sensing

Abstract

The design of passive optical sensor systems for remote sensing requires more or less complex theoretical investigations. Based on the user requirements which are characterized by data products all relevant physical effects influencing the generation of an image have to be considered and modeled. The goal is to build the whole chain of signal generation and transformation: from the source of light, through the atmosphere to the object to be observed, through the atmosphere again to the sensor system. These models can be applied for simulations which can be used for the optimization of sensor parameters and observation conditions and for the estimation of the potential performance of such a system. For this task, specific retrieval algorithms have to be considered closing the loop of developing camera systems. The paper contains classical approaches for a system design as a standard tool used in the Institute for Robotics and Mechatronics including methods for modeling the geometrical and radiometric relations and the description of camera hardware. The results of a complex investigation of the point spread function of camera systems is core topic of this paper.