  The resolution of optical imaging is limited by diffraction as well as
detector noise. However, thermal imaging exhibits an additional unique
phenomenon of ghosting which results in blurry and low-texture images. Here, we
provide a detailed view of thermal physics-driven texture and explain why it
vanishes in thermal images capturing heat radiation. We show that spectral
resolution in thermal imagery can help recover this texture, and we provide
algorithms to recover texture close to the ground truth. Using a simulator for
complex 3D scenes, we discuss the interplay of geometric textures and
non-uniform temperatures which is common in real-world thermal imaging. We
demonstrate the failure of traditional thermal imaging to recover ground truth
in multiple scenarios while our thermal perception approach successfully
recovers geometric textures. Finally, we put forth an experimentally feasible
infrared Bayer-filter approach to achieve thermal perception in pitch darkness
as vivid as optical imagery in broad daylight.
