Abstract: A system for enhancing images from an electro-optic imaging sensor and for reducing the necessary focal length of a sensor while preserving system acuity. This system uniquely reduces the necessary focal length and enhances images by collecting a video sequence, estimating motion associate with this sequence, assembling video frames into composite images, and applying image restoration to restore the composite image from pixel, lens blur, and alias distortion. The invention synthetically increases the pixel density of the focal plane array. Thus it reduces the necessary size of the projected blur circle or equivalently it reduces the minimum focal length requirements.

Abstract: An apparatus for processing imaging data in a plurality of spectral bands and fusing the data into a color image includes one or more imaging sensors and at least two image-acquiring sensor areas located on the imaging sensors. Each sensor area is sensitive to a different spectral band than at least one of the other sensor area or areas, and each sensor area will generate an image output representative of an acquired image in the spectral band to which it is sensitive. The apparatus further includes a software program that runs on a computer and executes a registration algorithm for registering the image outputs pixel-to-pixel, an algorithm to scale the images into a 24-bit true color image for display, and a color fusion algorithm for combining the image outputs into a single image.