Computation of the ambiguity function for circularly symmetric pupils

A method of computing the ambiguity function (AF) for a circularly symmetric pupil function is presented. The AFs of a clear aperture and two shaded apertures are considered in detail and an explicit expression for the first of these AFs is given. We explain these results in the context of the well-known optical transfer function theory and show a primary application of these computations. A good analytic approximation is also introduced, providing an alternative method for calculating the AF, in a simpler way.

Non-goal scene analysis for soccer video

The broadcast soccer video is usually recorded by one main camera, which is constantly gazing somewhere of playfield where a highlight event is happening. So the camera parameters and their variety have close relationship with semantic information of soccer video, and much interest has been caught in camera calibration for soccer video. The previous calibration methods either deal with goal scene, or have strict calibration conditions and high complexity. So, it does not properly handle the non-goal scene such as midfield or center-forward scene. In this paper, based on a new soccer field model, a field symbol extraction algorithm is proposed to extract the calibration information. Then a two-stage calibration approach is developed which can calibrate camera not only for goal scene but also for non-goal scene. The preliminary experimental results demonstrate its robustness and accuracy. (c) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Speed ambiguity in hurricane wind retrieval from SAR imagery

Under strong ocean surface wind conditions, the normalized radar cross section of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) is dampened at certain incident angles, compared with the signals under moderate winds. This causes a wind speed ambiguity problem in wind speed retrievals from SAR, because two solutions may exist for each backscattered signal. This study shows that the problem is ubiquitous in the images acquired by operational space-borne SAR sensors. Moreover, the problem is more severe for the near range and range travelling winds. To remove this ambiguity, a method was developed based on characteristics of the hurricane wind structure. A SAR image of Hurricane Rita (2005) was analysed to demonstrate the wind speed ambiguity problem and the method to improve the wind speed retrievals. Our conclusions suggest that a speed ambiguity removal algorithm must be used for wind retrievals from SAR in intense storms and hurricanes.