The document summarizes various methods for detecting water hazards outdoors, including:
- Color imagery, which identifies water by its reflections but struggles with still water.
- Short wave infrared imagery, which detects water's dark appearance in infrared. However, performance degrades where water reflects vegetation or clouds.
- Thermal infrared imagery, where water appears cooler than terrain by day and warmer at night, but only detects the top water layer.
- Laser range finders can detect water through specular reflection but are limited by range and angle of incidence.
- Multi-feature methods combine cues like brightness, texture and range but require significant computation.
- Polarization imaging exploits water's polarized light reflection