Influence of sensor motion on target acquisition

The effect of linear image motion and high frequency vibrations on human performance for target acquisition is considered. Two clutter metrics, one local and the other global, are combined to one metric of signal-to-clutter ratio (SCR). The SCR is used as a parameter in the model for actual target acquisition r,ults. Two experiments involving human observers are considered. A static experiment is developed with spatial filters representing image motion, and a dynamic experiment is described which imitates the operation of a scanning camera with a constant velocity. It appears from both experiments that image motion increases the detection time of a target by the observer. As the complexity of the original image increases, detection time is more affected, increasing more rapidly with blur radius in the first experiment and with velocity in the second experiment.