Abstract

Typically, wide area imaging systems are applied to the challenge of maintaining a watchful eye over large segments of a population to support military and civilian purposes. These systems tend to encompass 60° or larger FOV with resolutions to distinguish certain individual activities. This paper will provide some optical design considerations needed to realize the necessary spatial and temporal sampling to afford proper information gathering. We will attempt to establish a contrast between typical imaging systems and a wide area system, concentrating on the relationship between system benefits and proper optical design rules. We will touch upon component considerations as well, since in the end there are orders of magnitude, i.e. more pixel data streaming from a Wide Area Motion Imagery (WAMI) system versus a normal imaging system. Finally, we will briefly touch on the differences between visible and IR systems; providing examples of newly available commercial WAMI systems.

© 2016 Optical Society of America