Patent Document ID: 9497429
Application ID: 14145734
Patent Status: 1

Claim One:
1. A method of generating a high resolution image of a scene using an imager array including a plurality of imagers that each capture an image of the scene, and a forward imaging transformation for each imager, the method comprising: obtaining input images captured by a plurality of imagers, where a first set of input images includes image information captured in a first band of visible wavelengths and a second set of input images includes image information captured in a second band of visible wavelengths and non-visible wavelengths; determining an initial estimate of at least a portion of a high resolution image using a processor configured by software to: combine image information from the first set of input images into a first fused image; combine image information from the second set of input images into a second fused image, wherein the first fused image and the second fused image have the same resolution and the resolution is higher than the resolution of any of the input images; spatially register the first fused image and the second fused image; denoise the first fused image using a first bilateral filter; denoise the second fused image using a second bilateral filter; normalize the second fused image in the photometric reference space of the first fused image; and combine the first fused image and the second fused image into an initial estimate of at least a portion of the high resolution image; and determining a high resolution image that when mapped through the forward imaging transformation matches the input images to within at least one predetermined criterion using the initial estimate of at least a portion of the high resolution image using the processor configured by software; wherein each forward imaging transformation corresponds to the manner in which each imager in the imaging array generated the input images; and wherein the high resolution image has a resolution that is greater than any of the input images.