Toronto, December 2010: The Canadian Space Agency has awarded AUG Signals with a contract to increase the utilization of RADARSAT-2 data amongst government end users by way of developing a change detection tool specifically designed for military and agricultural applications based on the RADARSAT-2 fully polarimetric data.
In collaboration with two government end users: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) and the Department of National Defence (DND), algorithms will be developed for automatic Covariance Equalization (CE) change detection capability using fully polarimetric RADARSAT2 data, enhanced and optimized polarimetric InSAR coherence for Coherent Change Detection (CCD), more comprehensive and enhanced change detection utilizing combined/fused CE and CCD, capability to identify military targets and boundaries/acreage changes over time, and rapid and robust change detection processing.
This technology will greatly benefit the end users by providing the ability to accurately detect the desired changes even with registration errors and low coherence associated with vegetation covers. It will also provide a more comprehensive picture of the detected changes on both subpixel level and subtle level. In terms of agricultural applications, the resulting capabilities could be applied to not only the boundaries/acreages, but also differences in crop type, crop growth stage and crop indicators like crop height, biomass and leaf area index. In military applications, the technology will enhance the ability to monitor enemy resources or activities during reconnaissance, detecting suspicious activity during surveillance, providing scouting ability for a moving convoy, and supporting situational awareness when protecting garrisons or high-value targets.
For more information, please contact Dr. Ting Liu, the Project Manager.