on the
toolbar:TargetPro is a software module included with Perspective. TargetPro can take snapshots of selective areas of your Perspective mosaic that may be of interest. When TargetPro takes a snapshot of an image, it also logs the quantitative data (geocoding and contact mensuration) associated with the original .XTF data. These images can be saved as contact files independent of the original data imagery. TargetPro can be used to recall, view and modify a wide variety of images.
Before you start TargetPro it is recommended that you set up the target directories in Perspective, these are the directories where all contacts will be stored. These directories will be duplicated in TargetPro - enabling contacts saved in TargetPro to be automatically displayed in the main Perspective map view.
Go to View>Settings Info... or click on the Settings icon
on the
toolbar:
Select the Contact tab:
Size (meters)
Width and Height - this indicates the size, in meters, of the contact to be generated. The Perspective cursor in the main map view window changes to a box that represents the size selected by the user. Default is 10.0 meters
Bookmarks
Show - any bookmarks that are in the .XTF file will be displayed if this box is checked. If the box is unchecked, bookmarks will not be displayed.
Write to XTF - any bookmarks generated will be saved to the .XTF file. If this box is unchecked, any bookmarks created will NOT be saved to the .XTF file.
Targeting Paths
Temporary - all temporary contacts will be stored in this directory.
Saved - all saved contacts will be saved to this directory.
Application Paths
TargetPro - this indicates where Perspective can find the TargetPro program application.
FocusSpot - this indicates where Perspective can find the FocusSpot program application.
Contact Usage
The contact generated from Perspective can either be sent to TargetPro or to an XML file. Contacts sent to TargetPro will have the Triton Imaging Inc .CON file format. A contact generated as XML contains the parameters required to queue external programs to an areas of interest within the mosaic. Included in the XML structure is a link to a geo-referenced TIFF file (.tif + .tfw) that is the snapshot from the Perspective Mosaic. XML contacts can also contain links to other types of imagery such as AUV mounted optical cameras.
Current Contact Number - this indicates the current contact number that will be given to the next contact generated.
Auto Load From Target Path - Checking or unchecking this box enables or disables the monitoring in Perspective that looks to see when TargetPro saves a contact.
TargetPro can be initiated either by selecting Modality>Contact Generation,
hitting the F5 key or by clicking on the Contact Mode icon
on
the toolbar.
This will automatically switch to the Contact tab in the Information panel and the cursor will change to reflect the contact size specified in the Contact tab. This Contact tab is one of several places where the size and contact number can be assigned.
The main TargetPro window is automatically opened:
Once TargetPro is opened it is recommended to first set the Working Directory to match the Targeting Path set up in Perspective, this will enable saved contacts to be automatically displayed in Perspective's map view window.
Go to File>Set Working Directory...
The Browse for Folder dialog will open:
Browse to the "Saved" directory set in the Perspective Targeting Paths.
.CON (Proprietary Contact format)
.TIF (ESC image with Tag 270 information)
.PCM (Pulse Code Modulation image)
.JPG (Joint Photographic Experts Group)
.PNG (Compuserve Portable Network Graphic)
.PCX (Microsoft Paint)
.BMP (Windows Bitmap)
.WMF (Windows Metafile)
.EMF (Enhanced Metafile)
To create a contact, with the TargetPro window open, double click on the feature of interest in the Perspective map view:
TargetPro will open a new window with the contact.
The Perspective image has the contact as white and the shadow black, TargetPro has the contact
as black and the shadow white, this can be changed in TargetPro by selecting the Reverse Palette LUT invert icon on the tool bar
.
In order that TargetPro can work the XTF file must exist, you cannot create a Contact unless Perspective has loaded an XTF file.
The older method of selecting which dimension (Length, Echo, Shadow) is to be measured is still available, however by default TargetPro expects that the user will measure Length, Width and Shadow in that order, the user needs only to click and drag for each dimension, TargetPro now defaults to Measure mode:
In order for the shadow measurement to be valid it must start beyond the the width (Echo) measurement and be in the correct direction. In the above image the contact is on the starboard channel, therefore the shadow must be measured to the RIGHT of the contact.
Important information is highlighted: Position, Width, Length and Height. NOTE: for the object's height and position to be correctly calculated the altitude must be correct; Towfish altitude is also highlighted.
A note about the "width" measurement.
Because it is not usually possible to see the boundaries of the object on the side away from nadir the width measurement may only be possible on the visible or ensonfied part of the object, hence it is also referred to as the "Echo" measurement. In the image above the size of the object has been inferred from its visible shape and the width measurement adjusted accordingly.
To turn this option on go to the Tools>Configuration menu and select the Smooth checkbox :
Example of image smoothing:
Unsmoothed image Smoothed image
To activate this option go to View>Meter Bar:
The default position and color for the meter bar is the center of the image and black, to modify Right-Click on the bar in the image:
Choose the preferred position, style and color for the bar. To make these be the defaults for all further contacts check the Set as Defaults checkbox.
TargetPro’s Electronic Light Table (ELT) is a dialog box where a wide range of modifications (enhancements) to images can be made. Image enhancements can be in the form of:
Enhancements can be previewed in ELT before applying changes to the contact image. TargetPro images benefit most from files that have Tag 270 information in them. However, if an image does not have Tag 270 information it can still be put into the ELT, it just won't be able to be mensurated.
Once a contact is entered in TargetPro, select Tools>ELT... or the ELT
icon
.
Rotation/Cropping
Rotation - use this to rotate the image in the thumbnail window. Sliding the bar to the right rotates the image clockwise (0 to 180); sliding the bar left rotates it counterclockwise (-1 to -179).
Left - crops the image p pixels at a time from the left; moving the slider bar to the right increases the number of pixels to be cropped from the image.
Right - crops the image p pixels at a time from the right; moving the slider bar to the right increases the number of pixels to be cropped from the image.
Top - crops the image p pixels at a time from the top; moving the slider bar to the right increases the number of pixels to be cropped from the image.
Bottom - crops the image p pixels at a time from the bottom; moving the slider bar to the right increases the number of pixels to be cropped from the image.
Resize with rotation - if this is checked, you can combine resizing an image at the same time you are rotating it.
Min - this affects results in the Histogram window and in the Image Preview window. If Min is set to, say, four percent, then the bottom four percent of the pixel intensities (black to gray, maybe) are set to black. Remaining intensities are linearly expanded to fill the range of 0 to min. Range values can be between 0.10% and 100%.
Max - this affects results in the Histogram window and in the Image Preview window. If Max is set to, say, four percent, then the top four percent of the pixel intensities (almost white to total white) are set to highest intensity (255 or 65535, depending on whether the image is 8 or 16 bit). Remaining intensities are linearly expanded to fill the range of 0 to max. Range values can be between 0.10% and 100%.
Average - this control sets the number of pixels to average around each output pixel, affecting the degree of image blur.
Sharp - sliding the bar to the right increases sharpness. This emphasizes fine edges in the image. The bar initially is at the left and displays a value of 0, indicating no sharpness is being applied. The range of possible values is -10% (least sharp) to 10% (sharpest). (The units are just relative to the function and are not meant to suggest any mathematically based values.)
All four slider bars have a range of 0.0% to 100.0%. The defaults are 50.0% for Brightness, 20.0% for Contrast, 5.0% for Window Size, and 5.0% for Smoothing. This function only applies to black and white images.
Below the slider bars in this area are five buttons. They are Vignette, Adapt. Norm, Sliding Window, Despeckle, and Equalize:
Vignette: Vignette lighting compensates for large variations of light (or lack of light) in the background of the image. When vignette is applied, points furthest from the center of the image are darkest, and points closest to the center are lightest.
Adapt. Norm: This stands for “Adaptive Normalization.” It modifies the image such that within any range of pixels (chosen by Window Size) the outputs of Brightness, Contrast, and Smoothing are transformed into the values chosen. Figure 17 shows an example of the TVG dialog box which displays when you click Adapt. Norm.
Sliding Window: This subtracts the mean pixel intensity for the entire image.
Despeckle: Removes “noise” from the image. Noise is defined as any pixel that exceeds the median kernel value as defined by a median kernel cell size and a sensitivity value. The median kernel cell size can have values of 3, 5 or 7. Sensitivity is the number used to determine how different the center pixel in the image region must be before the pixel is replaced by the region’s median value. During despeckling, the image is examined in [Cell Size] X [Cell Size] regions. The value in the center pixel is compared to the median value for that region. If the difference between the center value and the median value exceeds the value specified on the Despeckle bar, the center pixel is replaced with the median value. Otherwise, the center pixel keeps its original value. Every pixel in the image is analyzed in this way. An image can be despeckled in seven ways as indicated by the choices in the Despeckle combination box: Lead Tools, Lee (linear model and estimation), Enhanced Lee, Frost, Enhanced Frost, Gamma and Kaun (multiplicative model and linear estimation).
After choosing a type of despeckling to perform, click the Despeckle button above the combination box to generate the desire despeckling.
Equalize: This manipulates the dynamic range of the colors in the image. An image can be equalized in five ways as indicated by the choices in the Equalize combination box:
Bell - all values are distributed evenly around the center of the scale. This produces a high-contrast image, but one with a more limited dynamic range than an image enhanced by linear equalization.
Exponential - favors (skews) the values toward the high end of the scale, effectively making the image lighter with less contrast. As with Logarithmic, the dynamic range of the colors is compressed.
Inverse Bell - the opposite of Bell equalization. Values are distributed evenly around the edges of the scale, producing a low-contrast image, but one with a wide dynamic range.
Linear - all values are distributed equally throughout the range. This is the default for the Equalize type of enhancement.
Logarithmic - favors (skews) the values toward the low end of the scale, effectively making the image darker with greater contrast. The dynamic range of the colors is compressed (squashed).
After choosing a type of equalization to perform, click the Equalize button above the combination box to generate the desired equalization.
Brightness - sliding the bar to the right brightens the image; sliding it to the left darkens it. When the bar is at the midpoint (+0%), the image has neutral brightness (no change in brightness). Range is ‑100% (dimmest) to +100% (brightest).
Contrast - sliding the bar to the right increases the image’s contrast; sliding it to the left decreases it. When the bar is at the midpoint (+0%), the image has neutral contrast (no change in contrast). Range is -100% (least contrast) to +100% (most contrast).
Gamma - gamma is a way of logarithmically compensating for low intensity pixels that may be present in some images. Sliding the bar to the right increases the gamma index for the image (maximum gamma = +10); sliding it to the left decreases it (minimum gamma = +0.10). The value +1.00 represents midpoint of the scale (no gamma).
Hue - hue represents color such as red, blue, green, etc. Sliding this bar left or right shifts the displayed colors. The range can be from -180 to +180, covering the entire color palette. The midpoint (0) is the neutral point, meaning the colors are not shifted one way or the other from their values.
Saturation - saturation affects how deep a given color is. Sliding the bar to the right increases saturation; sliding it to the left decreases saturation.
Invert - when clicked, this button reverses the values of all colors: White becomes black, black becomes white, etc.
The ELT keeps track of certain properties for the Preview image and Original File. These appear in the Statistics area of the ELT.
Num Colors - these are the number of unique pixel values in the image
Min Value and Max Value - these are the lowest and highest pixel values found in the image, respectively.
Bits - these are the number of bits for all the data in the contact window, logically ordered together and expressed hexadecimal notation, that are present in the image. For example:
0x7FF8 = (0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0) binary
0x7F80 = (0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0) binary
The most-significant bit (the leftmost bit) is always zero because the data will always be unsigned. Unused bits are marked with x’s and will normally be set to zero. When you crop an area of interest in the TargetPro image to work within the ELT, histograms pertain to just the cropped area.This area displays a running list of all enhancements applied to the previewed image. The most recent enhancement is at the top of the list, and the least recent enhancement is at the bottom of the list. The Audit Trail area has three control buttons: Undo Last, Redo Last, and Undo All.
Undo Last - the system undoes the most recently applied enhancement and removes the corresponding entry (the topmost entry) from the Audit Trail list.
Redo Last - the system reapplies the last enhancement that was undone and reinserts the name of that enhancement into the top of the Audit Trail list.
Undo All - the system removes all enhancements done to the preview image in this session. (Even so, you can restore changes to the currently previewed image by clicking Redo Last. If you do, changes are restored to the previewed image one enhancement at a time in a last-in, first-out basis.)
The Histogram window graphs the dynamic range distribution of the image’s colors for the preview image (enhanced or not). Thereafter, each instance of a modified image is graphically superimposed as an information layer in the Histogram window.
Below the Histogram window are two rows labeled Preview and Original File. The Original File row refers to those values that are present in the original image before a copy was loaded into the ELT. The Preview row refers to an image shown in the Image Preview window of the ELT. Such an image is one that has been loaded into the ELT, down sampled, and then displayed in the ELT.
Each row has a check box for indicating the presence or absence of red (R), green (G), blue (B), or Gray colors in the previewed image and in the original file. (Gray, when checked, identifies a monochromatic image and is mutually exclusive from RGB, which indicates a non-monochromatic image.) You can deselect or reselect the colors (or Gray) by clicking to put check marks in the boxes, or you can click in a checked box to remove a check mark. Your changes will be reflected in the Histogram window.
Apply to Large Image - copies all currently displayed changes (as visually indicated by image in Image Preview and by the Audit Trail list) to the Original File image that was present when you accessed the ELT dialog box in this session.
Undo Large Image - undoes any changes that may have been applied to the large image outside of the ELT.
Close - closes the ELT dialog box regardless of what changes were or were not applied to images. Should you decide to re-access the ELT dialog box, any enhancements that you may have done earlier remain in the Audit Trail list. Enhancements do not become a part of the original file unless you save the file from TargetPro’s main menu using File>Save.
When a contact is ready to be saved go to File>Save:
Contact - this will create the .con file in the specified targeting path directory.
Geo-corrected Tiff - creates a .TIF and TFW file in the specified targeting path directory.
ASCII Report - creates an ascii text file that includes contact file information.
File Naming Convention... - with regards to importing contacts to Perspective, this needs to remain as "User Defined".
Once the file is saved, it will automatically be imported to Perspective, in the tree view under "Contacts" and in the map view as a square labeled with the contact name.