Toronto, February 2007: AUG Signals has been awarded a CSA (Canadian Space Agency) contract to develop a polarimetric constant false alarm rate (CFAR) detector using Markov chains. This is an innovative technique that will result in a new class of CFAR detectors, which may either stand alone or complement traditional CFAR detection performance. The anticipated CFAR detection improvement is expected to be as much as 30%.

Target detection is a fundamental analysis tool essential for almost all remote sensing applications. Unlike conventional CFAR detectors that have been designed to detect objects described by point data or with low image resolution, a high-performance Markov chain CFAR detector will make optimal use of the higher resolution information provided by RADARSAT-2. The Markov chain CFAR detector will exploit the finer resolution and selective polarization provided by RADARSAT-2 in order to yield greater detection performance.

This new technology can be used for a variety of military and defense applications such as coastal surveillance, ship detection, detection of land targets, iceberg monitoring, etc. In addition, Markov chain CFAR detector can also be employed in commercial applications, anything from agriculture (compliance monitoring, crop monitoring) and forestry to sea ice monitoring.

Markov chain CFAR detector will solidify Canada’s position as a global leader in remote sensing data provision, applications, and innovative technology.

For more information, please contact the Project Manager, Dr. Chuhong Fei.