SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MEASURING POLARIZATION OF LIGHT IN IMAGES

The present invention relates to a sysmten and a method for measuring polarization of light in images, and particularly a system capable of acquiring polarimetry data using a single camera with or without a polarizing filter. When a polarizing filter is used, the data acquisition method comprises: (1) maneuvering the aircraft (or other vehicle) to orient the polarizing filter (and camera) in various directions when images are captured, (2) registering the various images to each other, and (3) computing polarimetry values (such as the Stokes parameters) for points of interest in the images. When a polarizing filter is not used, the data acquisition method comprises maneuvering the aircraft (or other vehicle) to orient the camera in various directions when images are captured and then performing the same operations (2) and (3). These methods measure the amount of polarization in a given scene by taking multiple camera images at different angles.