Target detection beneath foliage using polarimetric synthetic aperture radar interferometry

In this paper, we demonstrate how the new technology of polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (SAR) interferometry can be used to enhance the detection of targets hidden beneath foliage. The key idea is to note that for random volume scattering, the interferometric coherence is invariant to changes in wave polarization. On the other hand, in the presence of a target the coherence changes with polarization. We show that under general symmetry constraints this change is linear in the complex coherence plane. These observations can be used to devise a filter to suppress the returns from foliage clutter while maintaining the signal from hidden targets. We illustrate the algorithm by applying it to coherent L-band SAR simulations of corner reflectors hidden in a forest. The simulations are performed using a voxel-based vector wave propagation and scattering code coupled to detailed structural models of tree architecture. In this way, the spatial statistics and radar signal fluctuations closely match those observed for natural terrain. We demonstrate significant improvements in the detection of hidden targets, which suggests that this technology has great potential for future foliage penetration (FOPEN) applications.     

Target detection beneath foliage using polarimetric synthetic aperture radar interferometry

Abstract

In this paper, we demonstrate how the new technology of polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (SAR) interferometry can be used to enhance the detection of targets hidden beneath foliage. The key idea is to note that for random volume scattering, the interferometric coherence is invariant to changes in wave polarization. On the other hand, in the presence of a target the coherence changes with polarization. We show that under general symmetry constraints this change is linear in the complex coherence plane. These observations can be used to devise a filter to suppress the returns from foliage clutter while maintaining the signal from hidden targets. We illustrate the algorithm by applying it to coherent L-band SAR simulations of corner reflectors hidden in a forest. The simulations are performed using a voxel-based vector wave propagation and scattering code coupled to detailed structural models of tree architecture. In this way, the spatial statistics and radar signal fluctuations closely match those observed for natural terrain. We demonstrate significant improvements in the detection of hidden targets, which suggests that this technology has great potential for future foliage penetration (FOPEN) applications.     

Automatic detection of small objects from their infrared state-of-polarization vectors

A technique for automatic detection of targets from their infrared signature's state-of-polarization vector is described. The bounds on the Bayesian total probability of errors are estimated from the observed Stokes vector imagery and used as metrics for separating targets from background clutter. The performance of the proposed approach for objects under various geometries is studied in terms of receiver operating characteristic curves. The new results, which have been obtained from data from the U.S. Air Force's Infrared Modeling and Analysis polarimetric infrared simulation tool, indicate the usefulness of polarimetric infrared signatures for the automatic detection of small targets.     

机载C波段全极化SAR海面风矢量反演理论研究及实验验证

机载全极化SAR海面风矢量反演研究对于近海岸复杂气象条件下风矢量探测具有重要意义. 本文从极化散射理论出发,通过分析全极化SAR探测数据与海面风矢量的关系, 设计了全极化SAR海面风矢量反演方案.依据机载SAR高机动性和全极化两个探测特点, 针对VV极化探测数据,提出了基于最大似然估计的海面风矢量反演方法,并设计了飞行实验方案; 针对VH极化探测数据,提出了通过带约束最优拟合的VH极化海面散射模型反演风速, 再利用CMOD5地球物理模型函数计算风向的海面风矢量反演方法. 利用机载全极化SAR探测的台风'海葵'边缘数据,开展了海面风矢量反演实验研究. 研究结果表明,两种风矢量反演方法均可不借助辅助信息,反演复杂气象条件下的海面风矢量. 前者反演风向、风速的均方根误差分别为18.0°, 1.8 m/s, 后者反演风向、风速的均方根误差分别为9.3°, 1.2 m/s,后者的反演精度优于前者. 这是因为VH极化归一化雷达截面与风向和雷达入射角无关,仅与风速密切相关, 更适合复杂气象条件下的海面风矢量反演. 关键词： 机载全极化SAR 海面风矢量 理论研究 实验验证     

偏振光谱图像去雾技术研究

空气污染严重影响了成像质量,雾霾天气下成像的对比度和分辨率下降。利用不同波段偏振光谱数据的图像去雾研究国内外尚未见报道;运用偏振光谱去雾技术对光谱数据立方体研究具有重要意义。在中重度雾霾天气下,利用光谱仪,获取了380～1 000 nm的可见近红外偏振光谱数据,研究了450,550,650,750和850 nm五个波长下偏振图像和去雾结果。结果表明,波长对图像目标与背景的灰度差值影响显著,去雾后图像的灰度动态范围和平滑度都有显著提升;去雾后图像远景对比度平均提升了5倍,其中450 nm图像对比度最低,但对比度提升量最大,提高了7.13倍;850 nm图像对比度最高,但对比度提升量最小,提高了3.86倍;去雾后不同波长图像的灰度动态范围均有明显展宽,展宽范围为13.5%～28.6%,而图像近景动态范围展宽为33.3%～44.0%。分析了图像复原过程中可能出现的估计误差,根据其产生机理提出了对大气散射光的偏振度和无穷远处的大气散射光强度的校正方法,并总结出了最佳校正系数的选取规律,对未知条件下的图像去雾提出指导。通过斯托克斯参数从原始数据中提取偏振信息,基于大气散射光与景物透射光偏振特性差异对图像去雾,偏振光谱图像去雾技术为光谱图像去雾研究提供一种新手段,也为图像去雾技术的发展提供一种新思路。     

Fuzzy-Fusion Classifier for MMV Full-Polarization Radar Target Recognition Using One-Dimensional Scattering Centers

One-dimensional (1-D) scattering centers on a target can be used for radar target recognition purpose. In this paper, a new classifier based on fuzzy techniques is proposed, which is very much suitable for target recognition using 1-D scattering centers. Furthermore, information fusion techniques for full polarimetric receiver data are utilized at the decision level. The performance of the proposed fuzzy-fusion classifier is evaluated using a dataset of five aircraft models measured by millimeter-wave (MMW) full-polarization stepped-frequency radar in the compact range facility.     

Application of a Passive Polarimetric Infrared Sensor in Improved Detection and Classification of Targets

Automatic detection and recognition of targets by means of passive IR sensors suffer from limitations due to lack of sufficient contrast between the targets and their background, and among the facets of a target.In this paper the results of a suite of polarization-sensitive automatic target detection and recognition algorithms on sets of simulated and real polarimetric IR imagery are presented. A custom designed Polarimetric IR (PIR) imaging sensor is used for collecting real polarimetric target data-three of the four Stokes parameters under a variety of conditions. Then a set of novel algorithms are designed and tested that uses the target and background Stokes parameters for detection, segmentation and classification of targets.The empirical performance results are obtained in terms of the probabilities of detection, false alarm rate, segmentation accuracy, and recognition probabilities as functions of number of pixels on target, aspect and depression angles and under several background conditions (clutter densities) on the polarimetric and non-polarimetrirc data. These results show that a noticeable improvement over the non-polarimetric ATR can be achieved.     

Statistics of phase difference and product magnitude of multi-look processed Gaussian signals

The phase difference and the product of two complex Gaussian signals are important parameters in the study of interferometry and polarimetry. To reduce statistical variations, polarimetric and inteferometric radar systems adopted multi-look processing by averaging spatially in the complex interferogram. The statistical characteristics of these two parameters are different from those of the single-look processing. In this paper, we derive their probability density functions (PDFs), and establish their statistical properties. These PDFS are derived from the complex Wishart distribution. The procedures involve multiple integrations of special functions, thus yielding closed-form, easily computable solutions for the PDFs. The multi-look phase difference has a Gauss hypergeometric distribution, and the multi-look product distribution is shown to be a product of two modified Bessel functions. Experimental results using polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data of forests indicate good agreement between computed histograms and theoretical distributions.     

基于海面散射模型的全极化合成孔径雷达海洋环境探测关键技术参数设计仿真研究

技术参数设计研究是提升全极化SAR海洋环境探测能力的有效途径. 本文通过分析噪声等效后向散射系数和辐射分辨率与海洋环境探测的地球物理联系,提出一种全极化SAR关键技术参数设计方法. 采用全极化海面散射模型计算不同海洋环境条件下的雷达后向散射系数,据此确定全极化SAR对海探测的噪声等效后向散射系数,再将其作为合成孔径雷达方程输入参数,以辐射分辨率和信噪比的函数关系为约束条件,开展信噪比、辐射分辨率和系统功率孔径积等技术参数设计研究. 论文通过全极化海面散射模型的仿真计算,发现对海探测的噪声等效后向散射系数设计为-35.0 dB,可满足全极化SAR不同海洋环境条件的探测需求. 通过研究辐射分辨率与信噪比的函数关系,发现对海探测的最优信噪比为8.0 dB. C波段机载全极化SAR设计结果表明,由于兼顾了海洋环境探测需求,本文设计方法使得全极化SAR技术参数同时满足了海洋环境应用需求和系统设计要求. 关键词： 海面散射模型 全极化合成孔径雷达 海洋环境探测 技术参数设计     

A spectral domain approach to modelling of EM scattering for Synthetic Aperture Radar target recognition

A Fourier-based technique for electromagnetic (EM) wave reconstruction with application to polarimetric airborne and spaceborne radar data exploitation is presented. The method is different from conventional modelling techniques for Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) applications as a result of the full electromagnetic treatment of field interactions with the scatterer, the possibility of introducing new and controllable feature classes for target classification, and accurate decomposition of the source impulse response function that avoids potential errors (e.g. loss of coherent information) associated with the spherical phase approximations. The capability of extracting scatterer information such as the coherent radar cross section (RCS) is explored.     

A spectral domain approach to modelling of EM scattering for Synthetic Aperture Radar target recognition

A Fourier-based technique for electromagnetic (EM) wave reconstruction with application to polarimetric airborne and spaceborne radar data exploitation is presented. The method is different from conventional modelling techniques for Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) applications as a result of the full electromagnetic treatment of field interactions with the scatterer, the possibility of introducing new and controllable feature classes for target classification, and accurate decomposition of the source impulse response function that avoids potential errors (e.g. loss of coherent information) associated with the spherical phase approximations. The capability of extracting scatterer information such as the coherent radar cross section (RCS) is explored.     

偏振成像激光雷达遥感中的基本变换研究

针对偏振成像激光雷达遥感的计算需求,在假设以散射体中心为主坐标系中心的情况下,研究了入射偏振光和散射偏振光坐标系的变换、散射体引起的偏振状态的变化以及散射矩阵与Mueller矩阵之间的几种最基本的变换关系,并从群论的观点给出了这些变换关系的描述。这些变换关系的进一步展开便可得到具体的激光雷达偏振遥感物理量的计算方法,这在解读偏振激光雷达遥感图像的应用中具有实际作用。     

Polarimetric scattering from a two-dimensional improved sea fractal surface

This paper studies the influence of wind parameters and fractal dimension from an improved two-dimensional sea fractal surface on the polarimetric scattering by using facet integration.A two-dimensional improved sea surface simulated is discretized into three matrices of sea surface facets including a height matrix and two slope matrices on orthogonal directions.Based on the Kirchhoff approximation,the polarimetric scattered field is derived in the Cartesian coordinate system by integration of three matrices mentioned above.Finally,the fully polarised radar cross section is numerically simulated and the dependence of the polarimetric scattering on the sea fractal surface,such as the wind speed,the wind direction,as well as the fractal dimension,is discussed in detail.     

Synthetic aperture radar image correlation by use of preprocessing for enhancement of scattering centers

We demonstrate that a significant improvement can be obtained in the recognition of complicated synthetic aperture radar images taken from the Moving and Stationary Target Acquisitions and Recognition database. These images typically have a low number of scattering centers and high noise. We first preprocess the images and the templates formed from them so that their scattering centers are enhanced. Our technique can produce high-quality performance in several correlation criteria. For realistic automatic target recognition systems, our approach should make it easy to implement optical recognition systems with binarized data for many different types of correlation filter and should have a great effect on feeding data-compressed (binarized) information into either digital or optical processors.     

Benefits of space-time diversity for radar

When designing a new radar system, standard resolution trade-offs play a major role, providing the basic parameters of the radar, such as size, update rate, and range. Besides, diversity has long been used for mitigating fading effects due to the fluctuation of targets and clutter.However, with the arrival of more flexible systems, using multiple parallel channels on transmit and receive, and wider instantaneous bandwidths, these standard trade-offs are becoming less simple—and more flexible. In this communication, we will analyse the benefits of diversity and its relations with range, Doppler, and angle, for detection and location of moving targets with wideband/wide-beam radar systems. The idea is to contribute to a better understanding of the real benefits of agile transmissions for detection/localization of moving targets, focusing on range, velocity, and angular measurement improvements, as well as on the benefits for detection of moving targets.Special attention will be given to the quality of the different wideband wide-beam sensor modes for long-range surveillance, and new results on detection of moving targets in clutter will be provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of these new architectures for small target detection at long range, in difficult environments.     

一种新的偏振光谱二向反射测量方法

针对分光辐射度计和CCD相机各自在偏振BRDF实验测量中的不足,提出了一种新的实验方案.分别利用分光辐射度计和带液晶可调滤光片的CCD相机测量偏振光谱BRDF数据,然后利用分光辐射度计的数据来反演图像数据.实验结果表明,反演后的偏振光谱BRDF数据不但准确地描述其波谱特征和材料的均匀性,而且能反映材料的颜色、粗糙度、导电性、纹理和边缘等特征.     

直升机防撞激光雷达综合信息处理系统

设计了一种新型直升机载防撞激光雷达综合信息处理系统。通过对直升机姿态信息的捕获和修正、目标提取与识别、数据三维空间转换等技术,设计并实现了直升机载激光雷达的改进综合信息处理及显示,并且采用扫描成像激光雷达的探测试验对以上技术进行了实际验证。试验结果表明：该系统有效减小了直升机机动飞行时激光雷达探测画面的畸变,在横滚角30°时仍可有效修正探测图像;另外,在600 m处完成了对电力线等不易观察高危目标的迅速提取;实现了探测画面的三维综合高效显示,综合处理时间〈10 ms。本文提出的新的直升机载激光雷达综合信息处理方式有效改良了人机界面。     

Amélioration de la sensibilité de détection dans un sous-sol

Ground penetrating radar is a technique wich offers a way of viewing shallow soil. The areas of application for geophysical radar are divers and the associated electromagnetic phenomenology has been investigated for detecting targets buried within a realistic model ground environment. The continuous backscatter of field from soil gives rise to clutter, which limits the contrast of near-surface underground target reflections and, therefore, decreases the detection sensitivity of the radar. In this paper, a novel detection scheme is introduced in order to improve the detection sensitivity. This new approach is based on a frequency modulation by a micro-wave signal.     

基于COMPASS+PD/HRLR组合的侦察导弹对海洋移动目标定位方法研究

针对现行侦察手段对敌方海洋移动目标进行地理坐标的测量方法不多,测量精度不高的问题,提出了一种利用反舰巡航导弹搭载北斗卫星定位接收机(COMPASS)、合成孔径雷达(SAR)、脉冲多普勒雷达(PD)、高重频激光测距仪(HRLR)、激光测高仪(LHD)与数据传输系统(DCS),实现对敌海洋移动目标准确识别和精确定位的方法,介绍了侦察导弹的组成,说明了定位原理,给出了物理多站连续交会定位算法模型,进行了模拟测量数据解算和误差分析。通过仿真证明,本方法简单、实用,能够满足实际工程应用的需求,可为海上远程精确打击体系提供高精度的目标位置信息。     

半正弦波相关型三维激光雷达

提出了基于半正弦波-方波相关法的凝视成像三维激光雷达.用傅里叶级数展开对新方法进行了分析.理论分析表明,半正弦-方波相关可以在抑制高频噪音的同时加大调制的交流分量.基于新相关方法的探测系统可以在不损失测距准确度的条件下可以获得更大的输出光功率从而获得更大的探测距离.采用基于新方法的探测装置对~70 m外约100 m2的目标进行了探测实验.实验结果表明,基于新方法的激光雷达在60 m处的分辨率约为0.3 m,从而验证了理论分析的结论.