Ku-Band SAR-Drone System and Methodology for Repeat-Pass Interferometry

In recent years, drone-based Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) systems have emerged as flexible and cost-efficient solutions for detecting changes in the Earth’s surface, retrieving topographic data, or detecting ground displacement processes in localized areas, among other applications. These systems...

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Main Authors: Gerard Ruiz-Carregal, Marc Lort Cuenca, Luis Yam, Gerard Masalias, Eduard Makhoul, Rubén Iglesias, Antonio Heredia, Álex González, Giuseppe Centolanza, Albert Gili-Zaragoza, Azadeh Faridi, Dani Monells, Javier Duro
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-10-01
Series:Remote Sensing
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/16/21/4069
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author Gerard Ruiz-Carregal
Marc Lort Cuenca
Luis Yam
Gerard Masalias
Eduard Makhoul
Rubén Iglesias
Antonio Heredia
Álex González
Giuseppe Centolanza
Albert Gili-Zaragoza
Azadeh Faridi
Dani Monells
Javier Duro
author_facet Gerard Ruiz-Carregal
Marc Lort Cuenca
Luis Yam
Gerard Masalias
Eduard Makhoul
Rubén Iglesias
Antonio Heredia
Álex González
Giuseppe Centolanza
Albert Gili-Zaragoza
Azadeh Faridi
Dani Monells
Javier Duro
author_sort Gerard Ruiz-Carregal
collection DOAJ
description In recent years, drone-based Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) systems have emerged as flexible and cost-efficient solutions for detecting changes in the Earth’s surface, retrieving topographic data, or detecting ground displacement processes in localized areas, among other applications. These systems offer a unique combination of short and versatile revisit times and flexible acquisition geometries that are not achievable with space-borne, airborne, or ground-based SAR sensors. However, due to platform limitations and flight stability issues, they also present significant challenges regarding instrument design and data processing, particularly when generating interferometric repeat-pass datasets. This paper demonstrates the feasibility of repeat-pass interferometry using a Ku-band drone-based SAR system. The system integrates a dual-channel Ku-band Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) radar with cross-track single-pass interferometric capabilities, mounted on a drone platform. The proposed repeat-pass interferometric processing chain leverages an accurate Digital Elevation Model (DEM), generated from the single-pass interferograms, to precisely coregister the entire stack of acquisitions, thereby producing repeat-pass interferograms free from residual motion errors. The results underscore the potential of this system and the processing chain proposed for generating multi-temporal repeat-pass stacks suitable for repeat-pass applications.
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institution Kabale University
issn 2072-4292
language English
publishDate 2024-10-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Remote Sensing
spelling doaj-art-c8761002694c40479e908f4dc5f31f1f2024-11-08T14:40:43ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922024-10-011621406910.3390/rs16214069Ku-Band SAR-Drone System and Methodology for Repeat-Pass InterferometryGerard Ruiz-Carregal0Marc Lort Cuenca1Luis Yam2Gerard Masalias3Eduard Makhoul4Rubén Iglesias5Antonio Heredia6Álex González7Giuseppe Centolanza8Albert Gili-Zaragoza9Azadeh Faridi10Dani Monells11Javier Duro12Dares Technology, C/Esteve Terrades, 1, Edif. RDIT, Parc UPC, 08860 Castelldefels, SpainDares Technology, C/Esteve Terrades, 1, Edif. RDIT, Parc UPC, 08860 Castelldefels, SpainDares Technology, C/Esteve Terrades, 1, Edif. RDIT, Parc UPC, 08860 Castelldefels, SpainDares Technology, C/Esteve Terrades, 1, Edif. RDIT, Parc UPC, 08860 Castelldefels, SpainDares Technology, C/Esteve Terrades, 1, Edif. RDIT, Parc UPC, 08860 Castelldefels, SpainDares Technology, C/Esteve Terrades, 1, Edif. RDIT, Parc UPC, 08860 Castelldefels, SpainDares Technology, C/Esteve Terrades, 1, Edif. RDIT, Parc UPC, 08860 Castelldefels, SpainDares Technology, C/Esteve Terrades, 1, Edif. RDIT, Parc UPC, 08860 Castelldefels, SpainDares Technology, C/Esteve Terrades, 1, Edif. RDIT, Parc UPC, 08860 Castelldefels, SpainDares Technology, C/Esteve Terrades, 1, Edif. RDIT, Parc UPC, 08860 Castelldefels, SpainDares Technology, C/Esteve Terrades, 1, Edif. RDIT, Parc UPC, 08860 Castelldefels, SpainDares Technology, C/Esteve Terrades, 1, Edif. RDIT, Parc UPC, 08860 Castelldefels, SpainDares Technology, C/Esteve Terrades, 1, Edif. RDIT, Parc UPC, 08860 Castelldefels, SpainIn recent years, drone-based Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) systems have emerged as flexible and cost-efficient solutions for detecting changes in the Earth’s surface, retrieving topographic data, or detecting ground displacement processes in localized areas, among other applications. These systems offer a unique combination of short and versatile revisit times and flexible acquisition geometries that are not achievable with space-borne, airborne, or ground-based SAR sensors. However, due to platform limitations and flight stability issues, they also present significant challenges regarding instrument design and data processing, particularly when generating interferometric repeat-pass datasets. This paper demonstrates the feasibility of repeat-pass interferometry using a Ku-band drone-based SAR system. The system integrates a dual-channel Ku-band Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) radar with cross-track single-pass interferometric capabilities, mounted on a drone platform. The proposed repeat-pass interferometric processing chain leverages an accurate Digital Elevation Model (DEM), generated from the single-pass interferograms, to precisely coregister the entire stack of acquisitions, thereby producing repeat-pass interferograms free from residual motion errors. The results underscore the potential of this system and the processing chain proposed for generating multi-temporal repeat-pass stacks suitable for repeat-pass applications.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/16/21/4069SARInSARairborne repeat-pass interferometrydrone repeat-pass interferometryUAVdrone
spellingShingle Gerard Ruiz-Carregal
Marc Lort Cuenca
Luis Yam
Gerard Masalias
Eduard Makhoul
Rubén Iglesias
Antonio Heredia
Álex González
Giuseppe Centolanza
Albert Gili-Zaragoza
Azadeh Faridi
Dani Monells
Javier Duro
Ku-Band SAR-Drone System and Methodology for Repeat-Pass Interferometry
Remote Sensing
SAR
InSAR
airborne repeat-pass interferometry
drone repeat-pass interferometry
UAV
drone
title Ku-Band SAR-Drone System and Methodology for Repeat-Pass Interferometry
title_full Ku-Band SAR-Drone System and Methodology for Repeat-Pass Interferometry
title_fullStr Ku-Band SAR-Drone System and Methodology for Repeat-Pass Interferometry
title_full_unstemmed Ku-Band SAR-Drone System and Methodology for Repeat-Pass Interferometry
title_short Ku-Band SAR-Drone System and Methodology for Repeat-Pass Interferometry
title_sort ku band sar drone system and methodology for repeat pass interferometry
topic SAR
InSAR
airborne repeat-pass interferometry
drone repeat-pass interferometry
UAV
drone
url https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/16/21/4069
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