5,541 research outputs found
Towards Automatic SAR-Optical Stereogrammetry over Urban Areas using Very High Resolution Imagery
In this paper we discuss the potential and challenges regarding SAR-optical
stereogrammetry for urban areas, using very-high-resolution (VHR) remote
sensing imagery. Since we do this mainly from a geometrical point of view, we
first analyze the height reconstruction accuracy to be expected for different
stereogrammetric configurations. Then, we propose a strategy for simultaneous
tie point matching and 3D reconstruction, which exploits an epipolar-like
search window constraint. To drive the matching and ensure some robustness, we
combine different established handcrafted similarity measures. For the
experiments, we use real test data acquired by the Worldview-2, TerraSAR-X and
MEMPHIS sensors. Our results show that SAR-optical stereogrammetry using VHR
imagery is generally feasible with 3D positioning accuracies in the
meter-domain, although the matching of these strongly hetereogeneous
multi-sensor data remains very challenging. Keywords: Synthetic Aperture Radar
(SAR), optical images, remote sensing, data fusion, stereogrammetr
Extrapolation of Airborne Polarimetric and Interferometric SAR Data for Validation of Bio-Geo-Retrieval Algorithms for Future Spaceborne SAR Missions
Spaceborne SAR system concepts and mission design is often based on algorithms developed and the experience gathered
from airborne SAR experiments and associated dedicated campaigns. However, airborne SAR systems have better
performance parameters than their future space-borne counterparts as their design is not impacted by mass, power, and
storage constraints.
This paper describes a methodology to extrapolate spaceborne quality SAR image products from long wavelength airborne
polarimetric SAR data which were acquired especially for the development and validation of bio/geo-retrieval algorithms in
forested regions. For this purpose not only system (sensor) related parameters are altered, but also those relating to the
propagation path (ionosphere) and to temporal decorrelation
Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar Based on Digital Beamforming and Waveform Diversity
This paper introduces innovative SAR system
concepts for the acquisition of high resolution radar images with
wide swath coverage from spaceborne platforms. The new concepts
rely on the combination of advanced multi-channel SAR front-end
architectures with novel operational modes. The architectures
differ regarding their implementation complexity and it is shown
that even a low number of channels is already well suited to
significantly improve the imaging performance and to overcome
fundamental limitations inherent to classical SAR systems. The
more advanced concepts employ a multidimensional encoding of
the transmitted waveforms to further improve the performance
and to enable a new class of hybrid SAR imaging modes that are
well suited to satisfy hitherto incompatible user requirements for
frequent monitoring and detailed mapping. Implementation
specific issues will be discussed and examples demonstrate the
potential of the new techniques for different remote sensing
applications
Integration of LIDAR and IFSAR for mapping
LiDAR and IfSAR data is now widely used for a number of applications, particularly those needing a digital elevation model. The data is often complementary to other data such as aerial imagery and high resolution satellite data. This paper will review the current data sources and the products and then look at the ways in which the data can be integrated for particular applications. The main
platforms for LiDAR are either helicopter or fixed wing aircraft, often operating at low altitudes, a digital camera is frequently included on the platform, there is an interest in using other sensors such as 3 line cameras of hyperspectral scanners. IfSAR is used from satellite platforms, or from aircraft, the latter are more compatible with LiDAR for integration. The paper will examine the advantages and disadvantages of LiDAR and IfSAR for DEM generation and discuss the issues which still need to be dealt with. Examples of applications will be given and particularly those involving the integration of different types of data. Examples will be given from various sources and future trends examined
Non-Local Compressive Sensing Based SAR Tomography
Tomographic SAR (TomoSAR) inversion of urban areas is an inherently sparse
reconstruction problem and, hence, can be solved using compressive sensing (CS)
algorithms. This paper proposes solutions for two notorious problems in this
field: 1) TomoSAR requires a high number of data sets, which makes the
technique expensive. However, it can be shown that the number of acquisitions
and the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) can be traded off against each other,
because it is asymptotically only the product of the number of acquisitions and
SNR that determines the reconstruction quality. We propose to increase SNR by
integrating non-local estimation into the inversion and show that a reasonable
reconstruction of buildings from only seven interferograms is feasible. 2)
CS-based inversion is computationally expensive and therefore barely suitable
for large-scale applications. We introduce a new fast and accurate algorithm
for solving the non-local L1-L2-minimization problem, central to CS-based
reconstruction algorithms. The applicability of the algorithm is demonstrated
using simulated data and TerraSAR-X high-resolution spotlight images over an
area in Munich, Germany.Comment: 10 page
A fast and accurate basis pursuit denoising algorithm with application to super-resolving tomographic SAR
regularization is used for finding sparse solutions to an
underdetermined linear system. As sparse signals are widely expected in remote
sensing, this type of regularization scheme and its extensions have been widely
employed in many remote sensing problems, such as image fusion, target
detection, image super-resolution, and others and have led to promising
results. However, solving such sparse reconstruction problems is
computationally expensive and has limitations in its practical use. In this
paper, we proposed a novel efficient algorithm for solving the complex-valued
regularized least squares problem. Taking the high-dimensional
tomographic synthetic aperture radar (TomoSAR) as a practical example, we
carried out extensive experiments, both with simulation data and real data, to
demonstrate that the proposed approach can retain the accuracy of second order
methods while dramatically speeding up the processing by one or two orders.
Although we have chosen TomoSAR as the example, the proposed method can be
generally applied to any spectral estimation problems.Comment: 11 pages, IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensin
System Concepts for Bi- and Multi-Static SAR Missions
The performance and capabilities of bi- and multistatic spaceborne synthetic aperture radar (SAR) are analyzed. Such systems can be optimized for a broad range of applications like frequent monitoring, wide swath imaging, single-pass cross-track interferometry, along-track interferometry, resolution enhancement or radar tomography. Further potentials arises from digital beamforming on receive, which allows to gather additional information about the direction of the scattered radar echoes. This directional information can be used to suppress interferences, to improve geometric and radiometric resolution, or to increase the unambiguous swath width. Furthermore, a coherent combination of multiple receiver signals will allow for a suppression of azimuth ambiguities. For this, a reconstruction algorithm is derived, which enables a recovery of the unambiguous Doppler spectrum also in case of non-optimum receiver aperture displacements leading to a non-uniform sampling of the SAR signal. This algorithm has also a great potential for systems relying on the displaced phase center (DPC) technique, like the high resolution wide swath (HRWS) SAR or the split antenna approach in the TerraSAR-X and Radarsat II satellites
A Versatile Processing Chain for Experimental TanDEM-X Product Evaluation
TanDEM-X is a high-resolution interferometric mission with the main goal of providing a global digital elevation model
(DEM) of the Earth surface by means of single-pass X-band SAR interferometry. It is, moreover, the first genuinely
bistatic spaceborne SAR mission, and, independently of its usual quasi-monostatic configuration, includes many of the
peculiarities of bistatic SAR. An experimental, versatile, and flexible interferometric chain has been developed at DLR
Microwaves and Radar Institute for the scientific exploitation of TanDEM-X data acquired in non-standard configurations.
The paper describes the structure of the processing chain and focusses on some essential aspects of its bistatic part
Imaging ionospheric inhomogeneities using spaceborne synthetic aperture radar
We present a technique and results of 2-D imaging of Faraday rotation and total electron content using spaceborne L band polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (PolSAR). The results are obtained by processing PolSAR data collected using the Phased Array type L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (PALSAR) on board the Advanced Land Observation Satellite. Distinguished ionospheric inhomogeneities are captured in 2-D images from space with relatively high resolutions of hundreds of meters to a couple of kilometers in auroral-, middle-, and low-latitude regions. The observed phenomena include aurora-associated ionospheric enhancement arcs, the middle-latitude trough, traveling ionospheric disturbances, and plasma bubbles, as well as ionospheric irregularities. These demonstrate a new capability of spaceborne synthetic aperture radar that will not only provide measurements to correction of ionospheric effects in Earth science imagery but also significantly benefit ionospheric studies
Electronic SAR processors for space missions
An experimental laboratory processor is being developed as a testbed for design of on-board processors for future space missions. The configuration of the experimental processor is described and technical factors pertaining to the design are discussed
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