SAR and optical image fusion for urban infrastructure detection and monitoring

Usman Iqbal Ahmed; Bernhard Rabus; Mirza Faisal Beg

doi:10.1117/12.2579480

20 September 2020 SAR and optical image fusion for urban infrastructure detection and monitoring

Usman Iqbal Ahmed, Bernhard Rabus, Mirza Faisal Beg

Proceedings Volume 11535, Remote Sensing Technologies and Applications in Urban Environments V; 115350M (2020) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2579480
Event: SPIE Remote Sensing, 2020, Online Only

Abstract

Spaceborne Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and Optical sensors, are one of the main sources of Earth observation in the present age. Both the data types have their inherent advantages and disadvantages. Spaceborne Optical sensor are restricted by clouds but can offer strong information content in ideal conditions. On the other hand, SAR sensors rely on their own energy and can see through clouds. SAR is potentially an all-weather day/night imager. But SAR sensors have limitations in terms of data collection geometry and algorithmic approximations. Both sensors offer complimentary information for exploitation in data fusion for enhanced results. This research is focused on capitalizing the fusion potential for spaceborne High resolution SAR and Optical data in urban settings. The fusion of high reflection of SAR energy from urban areas and optical features of such areas can be combined to enhance the urban infrastructure detection and monitoring in a SAR/Optical fused scenario. SAR/Optical fusion can take place at three levels 1) pixel level, 2) feature level; and 3) information level. Pixel level fusion is often considered most difficult for high resolution data as precise registration up to subpixel level is required and even slight misregistration results in unfavorable circumstances. Simon Fraser University (SFU) Burnaby Mountain Campus has been chosen for area of interest because of its ongoing student housing and university infrastructure developmental projects. TerraSAR-X High Resolution Spotlight (TSX-HS) Single Look Complex (SLC) images of 1.0 m resolution have continuously being acquired over SFU; along with high resolution Optical (RGB) and Infrared (IR) images (3.0 m resolution each) from “The Planet” acquisitions. Limited high-resolution images from “Google Earth” (GE) in the coinciding period of TSX-HS acquisitions were also acquired for the study. Six fusion techniques have been studied for urban infrastructure detection and have been categorized based on their performance. Precision change maps will be created based on time series analysis for SAR/optical fused data in conjunction with Interferometric SAR (InSAR) analysis to study the long-term effect of urban infrastructure developments over a period of two years.

Conference Presentation

Citation Download Citation

Usman Iqbal Ahmed, Bernhard Rabus, and Mirza Faisal Beg "SAR and optical image fusion for urban infrastructure detection and monitoring", Proc. SPIE 11535, Remote Sensing Technologies and Applications in Urban Environments V, 115350M (20 September 2020); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2579480

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