ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses image fusion as a procedure for generating a fused image in which each pixel is determined from a set of pixels in each source image. Other researchers define image fusion as any form of fusion involving images. The chapter provides an introduction to the advantages of image fusion and illustrates some applications of this technique. It describes several typical image fusion methods. The chapter also discusses two important issues, image evaluation and image registration. The potential advantages of image fusion are that information can be obtained more accurately, as well as in less time and at a lower cost. Further, image fusion enables features to be distinguished that are impossible to perceive with any individual sensor. These advantages correspond to the notions of redundant, complementary, more timely, and less costly information. The sensors used for image fusion need to be accurately aligned so that their images will be in spatial registration.
