A Novel Mosaic Method for Spaceborne ScanSAR Images Based on Homography Matrix Compensation

Abstract

Accurate and efficient image mosaicking is essential for generating wide-range swath images of spaceborne scanning synthetic aperture radar (ScanSAR). However, the existing methods cannot guarantee the accuracy and efficiency of stitching simultaneously, especially when mosaicking multiple large-area images. In this paper, we propose a novel image mosaic method based on homography matrix compensation to solve the mentioned problem. A set of spaceborne ScanSAR images from the Gaofen-3 (GF-3) satellite were selected to test the performance of the new method. First, images are preprocessed by an improved Wallis filter to eliminate intensity inconsistencies. Then, to reduce the enormous computational redundancy of registration, the overlapping areas of adjacent images are coarsely extracted using geolocation technologies. Furthermore, to improve the efficiency of stitching and maintain the original information and resolution of images, we deduce a compensation of homography matrix to implement downsampled images registration and original-size images projection. After stitching, the transitions at the edges of the images were smooth and seamless, the information and resolution of the original images were preserved successfully, and the efficiency of the mosaic was improved by approximately one thousand-fold. The validity, high efficiency and reliability of the method are verified.