New Horizons at Pluto

Question

I'm teaching an undergraduate linear algebra course, and looking for applications. The New Horizons spacecraft is approaching Pluto, and returning images I find fascinating: http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/index.php

They briefly refer to 'image deconvolution'. I expect they are using the most sophisticated tools available, some nonlinear, but my vague understanding is that some simple methods are linear algebra based.

Can anyone provide a reference or expository paper on linear algebra methods for image deconvolution that would be a good starting point?

Answer 1

When talking about image deconvolution, it is referring to the process of correcting an image for distortion caused by the optical properties of the camera or imaging system. This distortion is characterized by the point spread function of the optical system. The point spread function describes the response of an imaging system to a point source. For a non point source ,the image is a superposition of the point spread function of multiple point sources representing the non point source.

There are many techniques of image deconvolution and references, too many to list in this format. But for examples of applications using linear algebra, you may want to begin by looking for references on image deconvolution using Wiener filters, or the Richardson-Lucy method. Both require knowledge of the point spread function of the system , but both involve linear algebra.