Quest®2

Quest2 provides support for post processing the rendered scene on sensor channels. Two modes of operation are supported depending on the type of sensor:

  • For Monochrome TV and Electro-Optical (EO) sensor simulation Quest2 is typically used to post process an OTW visual scene.
  • For sensors that operate deeper into the infra-red region of the electro-magnetic spectrum, Quest2 may be used to complement viXsen, a separate MANTIS plug-in which provides accurate at-aperture physics-based image generation of material coded terrains, moving models, effects and environmental phenomena with highly flexible sensor configuration options.

The viXsen plugin may be used on sensor channels to render the scene as it appears at the aperture of the sensor. What remains is to apply the effects introduced by the sensor itself—those that are deliberate, like polarity control, and those that remain despite the designer’s best efforts, like noise. These sensor post processing effects are added by the Quest2 Mantis plugin. Applying sensor effects after scene generation is computationally correct in terms of simulating the sensor output.

Combining the Quest2 and viXsen plug-ins provide a complete solution for the entire simulation pipeline ranging from visible light (CCD cameras) and near Infrared (Low Light Level Televisions (LLLTV), Image Intensifiers (II), and Night Vision Goggles (NVG)) to Short Wavelength IR (SWIR), Mid-Wavelength IR (MWIR), and Long Wavelength IR (LWIR) imaging systems.

Among the features supported by Quest2 are the following:

  • Monochrome or full color output up to 2048×1536 resolution.
  • 16-bit, floating-point frame buffer used when rendering the scene to allow for high dynamic range with no banding.
  • 15×15 blur kernel and 15×15 un-sharp mask kernel for image sharpening or detail peaking.
  • Fixed noise, temporal noise and scintillation.
  • Automatic Gain Control (AGC) methods – Histogram Linear Scaling, Histogram Equalization, and Local Area Contrast Enhancement (LACE) with realistic high dynamic range AGC response to super-bright objects such as the sun.
  • White hot / black hot polarity switching.
  • Hot spot detection and target tracking.
  • Manual gain and level adjustment.
  • Zoom, rotate and pan.
  • PIP support allowing zoomed inset window with independent AGC computation.
  • Gamma Correction
  • Realtime image grab to support network streaming.
  • No added transport delay