This book is an international collection of contributions from academia, industry and the armed forces. It addresses current and emerging Spatial Vision Models and their application to the understanding, prediction and evaluation of the tasks of target detection and recognition. The discussion in many of the chapters is framed in terms of military targets and military vision aids. However, the techniques analyses and problems are by no means limited to this area of application. The detection and recognition of an armored vehicle from a reconnaissance image are performed by the same visual system used to detect and recognize a tumor in an X-ray. The analysis of the interaction of the human visual system with night vision devices is not different from the analysis needed in the case of an operator examining structures using a remote (endoscopic) camera, etc. The book is organized into three general sections. The first covers basic modeling of central (foveal) vision and its theoretical background. The second is centered on the evaluation of model performance in applications, while the third is dedicated to aspects of peripheral vision modeling and the expansion of peripheral modeling to include visual search.

This book is intended to serve as an introduction to the technology of thermal imaging, and as a compendium of the conventions which form the basis of current FUR practice. Those topics in thermal imaging which are covered adequately elsewhere are not treated here, so there is no discussion of detectors, cryogenic coolers, circuit design, or video displays. Useful infor mation which is not readily available because of obscure publication is referenced as originating from personal communications. Virtually everyone with whom I have worked in the thermal imaging business has contributed to the book through the effects of conversations and ideas. I gratefully proffer blanket appreciation to all those who have helped in that way to make this book possible. The contributions of five people, however, bear special mention: Bob Sendall, Luke Biberman, Pete Laakmann, George Hopper, and Norm Stetson. They, more than any others, have positively influenced my thinking.