1,945 research outputs found
Robust and Flexible Persistent Scatterer Interferometry for Long-Term and Large-Scale Displacement Monitoring
Die Persistent Scatterer Interferometrie (PSI) ist eine Methode zur Ăberwachung von Verschiebungen der ErdoberflĂ€che aus dem Weltraum. Sie basiert auf der Identifizierung und Analyse von stabilen Punktstreuern (sog. Persistent Scatterer, PS) durch die Anwendung von AnsĂ€tzen der Zeitreihenanalyse auf Stapel von SAR-Interferogrammen. PS Punkte dominieren die RĂŒckstreuung der Auflösungszellen, in denen sie sich befinden, und werden durch geringfĂŒgige Dekorrelation charakterisiert. Verschiebungen solcher PS Punkte können mit einer potenziellen Submillimetergenauigkeit ĂŒberwacht werden, wenn Störquellen effektiv minimiert werden.
Im Laufe der Zeit hat sich die PSI in bestimmten Anwendungen zu einer operationellen Technologie entwickelt. Es gibt jedoch immer noch herausfordernde Anwendungen fĂŒr die Methode. Physische VerĂ€nderungen der LandoberflĂ€che und Ănderungen in der Aufnahmegeometrie können dazu fĂŒhren, dass PS Punkte im Laufe der Zeit erscheinen oder verschwinden. Die Anzahl der kontinuierlich kohĂ€renten PS Punkte nimmt mit zunehmender LĂ€nge der Zeitreihen ab, wĂ€hrend die Anzahl der TPS Punkte zunimmt, die nur wĂ€hrend eines oder mehrerer getrennter Segmente der analysierten Zeitreihe kohĂ€rent sind. Daher ist es wĂŒnschenswert, die Analyse solcher TPS Punkte in die PSI zu integrieren, um ein flexibles PSI-System zu entwickeln, das in der Lage ist mit dynamischen VerĂ€nderungen der LandoberflĂ€che umzugehen und somit ein kontinuierliches Verschiebungsmonitoring ermöglicht. Eine weitere Herausforderung der PSI besteht darin, groĂflĂ€chiges Monitoring in Regionen mit komplexen atmosphĂ€rischen Bedingungen durchzufĂŒhren. Letztere fĂŒhren zu hoher Unsicherheit in den Verschiebungszeitreihen bei groĂen AbstĂ€nden zur rĂ€umlichen Referenz.
Diese Arbeit befasst sich mit Modifikationen und Erweiterungen, die auf der Grund lage eines bestehenden PSI-Algorithmus realisiert wurden, um einen robusten und flexiblen PSI-Ansatz zu entwickeln, der mit den oben genannten Herausforderungen umgehen kann. Als erster Hauptbeitrag wird eine Methode prĂ€sentiert, die TPS Punkte vollstĂ€ndig in die PSI integriert. In Evaluierungsstudien mit echten SAR Daten wird gezeigt, dass die Integration von TPS Punkten tatsĂ€chlich die BewĂ€ltigung dynamischer VerĂ€nderungen der LandoberflĂ€che ermöglicht und mit zunehmender ZeitreihenlĂ€nge zunehmende Relevanz fĂŒr PSI-basierte Beobachtungsnetzwerke hat. Der zweite Hauptbeitrag ist die Vorstellung einer Methode zur kovarianzbasierten Referenzintegration in groĂflĂ€chige PSI-Anwendungen zur SchĂ€tzung von rĂ€umlich korreliertem Rauschen. Die Methode basiert auf der Abtastung des Rauschens an Referenzpixeln mit bekannten Verschiebungszeitreihen und anschlieĂender Interpolation auf die restlichen PS Pixel unter BerĂŒcksichtigung der rĂ€umlichen Statistik des Rauschens. Es wird in einer Simulationsstudie sowie einer Studie mit realen Daten gezeigt, dass die Methode ĂŒberlegene Leistung im Vergleich zu alternativen Methoden zur Reduktion von rĂ€umlich korreliertem Rauschen in Interferogrammen mittels Referenzintegration zeigt.
Die entwickelte PSI-Methode wird schlieĂlich zur Untersuchung von Landsenkung im Vietnamesischen Teil des Mekong Deltas eingesetzt, das seit einigen Jahrzehnten von Landsenkung und verschiedenen anderen Umweltproblemen betroffen ist. Die geschĂ€tzten Landsenkungsraten zeigen eine hohe VariabilitĂ€t auf kurzen sowie groĂen rĂ€umlichen Skalen. Die höchsten Senkungsraten von bis zu 6 cm pro Jahr treten hauptsĂ€chlich in stĂ€dtischen Gebieten auf. Es kann gezeigt werden, dass der gröĂte Teil der Landsenkung ihren Ursprung im oberflĂ€chennahen Untergrund hat. Die prĂ€sentierte Methode zur Reduzierung von rĂ€umlich korreliertem Rauschen verbessert die Ergebnisse signifikant, wenn eine angemessene rĂ€umliche Verteilung von Referenzgebieten verfĂŒgbar ist. In diesem Fall wird das Rauschen effektiv reduziert und unabhĂ€ngige Ergebnisse von zwei Interferogrammstapeln, die aus unterschiedlichen Orbits aufgenommen wurden, zeigen groĂe Ăbereinstimmung. Die Integration von TPS Punkten fĂŒhrt fĂŒr die analysierte Zeitreihe von sechs Jahren zu einer deutlich gröĂeren Anzahl an identifizierten TPS als PS Punkten im gesamten Untersuchungsgebiet und verbessert damit das Beobachtungsnetzwerk erheblich. Ein spezieller Anwendungsfall der TPS Integration wird vorgestellt, der auf der Clusterung von TPS Punkten basiert, die innerhalb der analysierten Zeitreihe erschienen, um neue Konstruktionen systematisch zu identifizieren und ihre anfĂ€ngliche Bewegungszeitreihen zu analysieren
Geodetic monitoring of complex shaped infrastructures using Ground-Based InSAR
In the context of climate change, alternatives to fossil energies need to be used as much as possible to produce electricity. Hydroelectric power generation through the utilisation of dams stands out as an exemplar of highly effective methodologies in this endeavour. Various monitoring sensors can be installed with different characteristics w.r.t. spatial resolution, temporal resolution and accuracy to assess their safe usage. Among the array of techniques available, it is noteworthy that ground-based synthetic aperture radar (GB-SAR) has not yet been widely adopted for this purpose. Despite its remarkable equilibrium between the aforementioned attributes, its sensitivity to atmospheric disruptions, specific acquisition geometry, and the requisite for phase unwrapping collectively contribute to constraining its usage. Several processing strategies are developed in this thesis to capitalise on all the opportunities of GB-SAR systems, such as continuous, flexible and autonomous observation combined with high resolutions and accuracy.
The first challenge that needs to be solved is to accurately localise and estimate the azimuth of the GB-SAR to improve the geocoding of the image in the subsequent step. A ray tracing algorithm and tomographic techniques are used to recover these external parameters of the sensors. The introduction of corner reflectors for validation purposes confirms a significant error reduction. However, for the subsequent geocoding, challenges persist in scenarios involving vertical structures due to foreshortening and layover, which notably compromise the geocoding quality of the observed points. These issues arise when multiple points at varying elevations are encapsulated within a singular resolution cell, posing difficulties in pinpointing the precise location of the scattering point responsible for signal return. To surmount these hurdles, a Bayesian approach grounded in intensity models is formulated, offering a tool to enhance the accuracy of the geocoding process. The validation is assessed on a dam in the black forest in Germany, characterised by a very specific structure.
The second part of this thesis is focused on the feasibility of using GB-SAR systems for long-term geodetic monitoring of large structures. A first assessment is made by testing large temporal baselines between acquisitions for epoch-wise monitoring. Due to large displacements, the phase unwrapping can not recover all the information. An improvement is made by adapting the geometry of the signal processing with the principal component analysis. The main case study consists of several campaigns from different stations at Enguri Dam in Georgia. The consistency of the estimated displacement map is assessed by comparing it to a numerical model calibrated on the plumblines data. It exhibits a strong agreement between the two results and comforts the usage of GB-SAR for epoch-wise monitoring, as it can measure several thousand points on the dam. It also exhibits the possibility of detecting local anomalies in the numerical model. Finally, the instrument has been installed for continuous monitoring for over two years at Enguri Dam. An adequate flowchart is developed to eliminate the drift happening with classical interferometric algorithms to achieve the accuracy required for geodetic monitoring. The analysis of the obtained time series confirms a very plausible result with classical parametric models of dam deformations. Moreover, the results of this processing strategy are also confronted with the numerical model and demonstrate a high consistency. The final comforting result is the comparison of the GB-SAR time series with the output from four GNSS stations installed on the dam crest.
The developed algorithms and methods increase the capabilities of the GB-SAR for dam monitoring in different configurations. It can be a valuable and precious supplement to other classical sensors for long-term geodetic observation purposes as well as short-term monitoring in cases of particular dam operations
Laboratory multistatic 3D SAR with polarimetry and sparse aperture sampling
With the advent of constellations of SAR satellites, and the possibility of swarms of SAR UAV's, there is increased interest in multistatic SAR image formation. This may provide advantages including allowing three-dimensional image formation free of clutter overlay; the coherent combination of bistatic SAR geometries for improved image resolution; and the collection of additional scattering information, including polarimetric. The polarimetric collection may provide useful target information, such as its orientation, polarisability, or number of interactions with the radar signal; distributed receivers would be more likely to capture any bright specular responses from targets in the scene, making target outlines distinct. Highlight results from multistatic polarimetric SAR experiments at the Cranfield University GBSAR laboratory are presented, illustrating the utility of the approach for fully sampled 3D SAR image formation, and for sparse aperture SAR 3D point-cloud generation with a newly developed volumetric multistatic interferometry algorithm.Defence Science and Technology Laboratory. Grant Number: P1568
Multidisciplinary perspectives on Artificial Intelligence and the law
This open access book presents an interdisciplinary, multi-authored, edited collection of chapters on Artificial Intelligence (âAIâ) and the Law. AI technology has come to play a central role in the modern data economy. Through a combination of increased computing power, the growing availability of data and the advancement of algorithms, AI has now become an umbrella term for some of the most transformational technological breakthroughs of this age. The importance of AI stems from both the opportunities that it offers and the challenges that it entails. While AI applications hold the promise of economic growth and efficiency gains, they also create significant risks and uncertainty. The potential and perils of AI have thus come to dominate modern discussions of technology and ethics â and although AI was initially allowed to largely develop without guidelines or rules, few would deny that the law is set to play a fundamental role in shaping the future of AI. As the debate over AI is far from over, the need for rigorous analysis has never been greater. This book thus brings together contributors from different fields and backgrounds to explore how the law might provide answers to some of the most pressing questions raised by AI. An outcome of the CatĂłlica Research Centre for the Future of Law and its interdisciplinary working group on Law and Artificial Intelligence, it includes contributions by leading scholars in the fields of technology, ethics and the law.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Natural and Technological Hazards in Urban Areas
Natural hazard events and technological accidents are separate causes of environmental impacts. Natural hazards are physical phenomena active in geological times, whereas technological hazards result from actions or facilities created by humans. In our time, combined natural and man-made hazards have been induced. Overpopulation and urban development in areas prone to natural hazards increase the impact of natural disasters worldwide. Additionally, urban areas are frequently characterized by intense industrial activity and rapid, poorly planned growth that threatens the environment and degrades the quality of life. Therefore, proper urban planning is crucial to minimize fatalities and reduce the environmental and economic impacts that accompany both natural and technological hazardous events
National Report for the IAG of the IUGG 2019-2022
Major results of researches conducted by Russian geodesists in 2019-2022 on
the topics of the International Association of Geodesy (IAG) of the
International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG) are presented in this
issue. This report is prepared by the Section of Geodesy of the National
Geophysical Committee of Russia. In the report prepared for the XXVII General
Assembly of IUGG (Germany, Berlin, 11-20 July 2023), the results of principal
researches in geodesy, geodynamics, gravimetry, in the studies of geodetic
reference frame creation and development, Earth's shape and gravity field,
Earth's rotation, geodetic theory, its application and some other directions
are briefly described. For some objective reasons not all results obtained by
Russian scientists on the field of geodesy are included in the report.Comment: Misprint in the title of the arXiv record has been corrected. The
submission content is not affecte
Cooperative Coherent Multistatic Imaging and Phase Synchronization in Networked Sensing
Coherent multistatic radio imaging represents a pivotal opportunity for
forthcoming wireless networks, which involves distributed nodes cooperating to
achieve accurate sensing resolution and robustness. This paper delves into
cooperative coherent imaging for vehicular radar networks. Herein, multiple
radar-equipped vehicles cooperate to improve collective sensing capabilities
and address the fundamental issue of distinguishing weak targets in close
proximity to strong ones, a critical challenge for vulnerable road users
protection. We prove the significant benefits of cooperative coherent imaging
in the considered automotive scenario in terms of both probability of correct
detection, evaluated considering several system parameters, as well as
resolution capabilities, showcased by a dedicated experimental campaign wherein
the collaboration between two vehicles enables the detection of the legs of a
pedestrian close to a parked car. Moreover, as \textit{coherent} processing of
several sensors' data requires very tight accuracy on clock synchronization and
sensor's positioning -- referred to as \textit{phase synchronization} -- (such
that to predict sensor-target distances up to a fraction of the carrier
wavelength), we present a general three-step cooperative multistatic phase
synchronization procedure, detailing the required information exchange among
vehicles in the specific automotive radar context and assessing its feasibility
and performance by hybrid Cram\'er-Rao bound.Comment: 13 page
Beam scanning by liquid-crystal biasing in a modified SIW structure
A fixed-frequency beam-scanning 1D antenna based on Liquid Crystals (LCs) is designed for application in 2D scanning with lateral alignment. The 2D array environment imposes full decoupling of adjacent 1D antennas, which often conflicts with the LC requirement of DC biasing: the proposed design accommodates both. The LC medium is placed inside a Substrate Integrated Waveguide (SIW) modified to work as a Groove Gap Waveguide, with radiating slots etched on the upper broad wall, that radiates as a Leaky-Wave Antenna (LWA). This allows effective application of the DC bias voltage needed for tuning the LCs. At the same time, the RF field remains laterally confined, enabling the possibility to lay several antennas in parallel and achieve 2D beam scanning. The design is validated by simulation employing the actual properties of a commercial LC medium
Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) Meets Deep Learning
This reprint focuses on the application of the combination of synthetic aperture radars and depth learning technology. It aims to further promote the development of SAR image intelligent interpretation technology. A synthetic aperture radar (SAR) is an important active microwave imaging sensor, whose all-day and all-weather working capacity give it an important place in the remote sensing community. Since the United States launched the first SAR satellite, SAR has received much attention in the remote sensing community, e.g., in geological exploration, topographic mapping, disaster forecast, and traffic monitoring. It is valuable and meaningful, therefore, to study SAR-based remote sensing applications. In recent years, deep learning represented by convolution neural networks has promoted significant progress in the computer vision community, e.g., in face recognition, the driverless field and Internet of things (IoT). Deep learning can enable computational models with multiple processing layers to learn data representations with multiple-level abstractions. This can greatly improve the performance of various applications. This reprint provides a platform for researchers to handle the above significant challenges and present their innovative and cutting-edge research results when applying deep learning to SAR in various manuscript types, e.g., articles, letters, reviews and technical reports
Autonomous Radar-based Gait Monitoring System
Features related to gait are fundamental metrics of human motion [1]. Human gait has been shown to be a valuable and feasible clinical marker to determine the risk of physical and mental functional decline [2], [3]. Technologies that detect changes in peopleâs gait patterns, especially older adults, could support the detection, evaluation, and monitoring of parameters related to changes in mobility, cognition, and frailty. Gait assessment has the potential to be leveraged as a clinical measurement as it is not limited to a specific health care discipline and is a consistent and sensitive test [4].
A wireless technology that uses electromagnetic waves (i.e., radar) to continually measure gait parameters at home or in a hospital without a clinicianâs participation has been proposed as a suitable solution [3], [5]. This approach is based on the interaction between electromagnetic waves with humans and how their bodies impact the surrounding and scattered wireless signals. Since this approach uses wireless waves, people do not need to wear or carry a device on their bodies. Additionally, an electromagnetic wave wireless sensor has no privacy issues because there is no video-based camera.
This thesis presents the design and testing of a radar-based contactless system that can monitor peopleâs gait patterns and recognize their activities in a range of indoor environments frequently and accurately. In this thesis, the use of commercially available radars for gait monitoring is investigated, which offers opportunities to implement unobtrusive and contactless gait monitoring and activity recognition. A novel fast and easy-to-implement gait extraction algorithm that enables an individualâs spatiotemporal gait parameter extraction at each gait cycle using a single FMCW (Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave) radar is proposed. The proposed system detects changes in gait that may be the signs of changes in mobility, cognition, and frailty, particularly for older adults in individualâs homes, retirement homes and long-term care facilities retirement homes. One of the straightforward applications for gait monitoring using radars is in corridors and hallways, which are commonly available in most residential homes, retirement, and long-term care homes. However, walls in the hallway have a strong âclutterâ impact, creating multipath due to the wide beam of commercially available radar antennas. The multipath reflections could result in an inaccurate gait measurement because gait extraction algorithms employ the assumption that the maximum reflected signals come from the torso of the walking person (rather than indirect reflections or multipath) [6].
To address the challenges of hallway gait monitoring, two approaches were used: (1) a novel signal processing method and (2) modifying the radar antenna using a hyperbolic lens. For the first approach, a novel algorithm based on radar signal processing, unsupervised learning, and a subject detection, association and tracking method is proposed. This proposed algorithm could be paired with any type of multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) or single-input multiple-output (SIMO) FMCW radar to capture human gait in a highly cluttered environment without needing radar antenna alteration. The algorithm functionality was validated by capturing spatiotemporal gait values (e.g., speed, step points, step time, step length, and step count) of people walking in a hallway. The preliminary results demonstrate the promising potential of the algorithm to accurately monitor gait in hallways, which increases opportunities for its applications in institutional and home environments. For the second approach, an in-package hyperbola-based lens antenna was designed that can be integrated with a radar module package empowered by the fast and easy-to-implement gait extraction method. The system functionality was successfully validated by capturing the spatiotemporal gait values of people walking in a hallway filled with metallic cabinets. The results achieved in this work pave the way to explore the use of stand-alone radar-based sensors in long hallways for day-to-day long-term monitoring of gait parameters of older adults or other populations.
The possibility of the coexistence of multiple walking subjects is high, especially in long-term care facilities where other people, including older adults, might need assistance during walking. GaitRite and wearables are not able to assess multiple peopleâs gait at the same time using only one device [7], [8]. In this thesis, a novel radar-based algorithm is proposed that is capable of tracking multiple people or extracting walking speed of a participant with the coexistence of other people. To address the problem of tracking and monitoring multiple walking people in a cluttered environment, a novel iterative framework based on unsupervised learning and advanced signal processing was developed and tested to analyze the reflected radio signals and extract walking movements and trajectories in a hallway environment. Advanced algorithms were developed to remove multipath effects or ghosts created due to the interaction between walking subjects and stationary objects, to identify and separate reflected signals of two participants walking at a close distance, and to track multiple subjects over time. This method allows the extraction of walking speed in multiple closely-spaced subjects simultaneously, which is distinct from previous approaches where the speed of only one subject was obtained. The proposed multiple-people gait monitoring was assessed with 22 participants who participated in a bedrest (BR) study conducted at McGill University Health Centre (MUHC).
The system functionality also was assessed for in-home applications. In this regard, a cloud-based system is proposed for non-contact, real-time recognition and monitoring of physical activities and walking periods within a domestic environment. The proposed system employs standalone Internet of Things (IoT)-based millimeter wave radar devices and deep learning models to enable autonomous, free-living activity recognition and gait analysis. Range-Doppler maps generated from a dataset of real-life in-home activities are used to train deep learning models. The performance of several deep learning models was evaluated based on accuracy and prediction time, with the gated recurrent network (GRU) model selected for real-time deployment due to its balance of speed and accuracy compared to 2D Convolutional Neural Network Long Short-Term Memory (2D-CNNLSTM) and Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) models. In addition to recognizing and differentiating various activities and walking periods, the system also records the subjectâs activity level over time, washroom use frequency, sleep/sedentary/active/out-of-home durations, current state, and gait parameters. Importantly, the system maintains privacy by not requiring the subject to wear or carry any additional devices
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