Digital Signal Processing Techniques and Applications in Radar Image Processing

PREFACE

In the past few decades, the principles and techniques of digital signal processing (DSP) have been used in applications such as data and wireless communication, voice and speech analysis and synthesis, and video and image compression and expansion. Radar image processing is considered the primary application of the remote sensing field and is a new and emerging area for DSP applications. Although the primary application of satellite-based radar imaging is military surveillance, the low cost and real-time processing capability of radar imaging, together with its capability to operate under any environmental conditions (e.g., night or day, rain or snow, fog or clear sky) have opened up many commercial applications. Sea ice monitoring and disaster monitoring of events such as forest fires, floods, volcano eruptions, earthquakes, and oil spills are examples of satellite-based radar imaging applications. Airborne-based radar systems also have made radar imaging more affordable and popular. Furthermore, exploration of underground natural resources is an example of a new application.

The processing of radar images, in general, consists of three major fields: DSP principles and communication theory, knowledge of antenna and radar operation, and algorithms used to process the radar images. The purpose of this book is to include the material in these fields in one publication, to provide the reader with a thorough understanding of how radar images are processed. To further familiarize ...