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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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Remote sensing (Basel, Switzerland) Switzerland), 2024-11, Vol.16 (21), p.4069
Main Authors: Ruiz-Carregal, Gerard, Lort Cuenca, Marc, Yam, Luis, Masalias, Gerard, Makhoul, Eduard, Iglesias, Rubén, Heredia, Antonio, González, Álex, Centolanza, Giuseppe, Gili-Zaragoza, Albert, Faridi, Azadeh, Monells, Dani, Duro, Javier
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accuracy
airborne repeat-pass interferometry
Algorithms
Analysis
Antennas
Artificial satellites in remote sensing
Continuous radiation
Data processing
Design
Digital Elevation Models
drone
drone repeat-pass interferometry
Drones
Earth surface
Frequency modulation
Geometry
Information processing
InSAR
Interferometry
Methods
Navigation systems
Radar
Radar systems
Receivers & amplifiers
SAR
Satellites
Sensors
Superhigh frequencies
Synthetic aperture radar
Topography
UAV
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Summary: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.
ISSN:2072-4292
2072-4292
DOI:10.3390/rs16214069