A Novel Shadow and Layover Segmentation Network for Multi-Angle SAR Images Fusion

Abstract

Shadow and layover are geometric distortion phenomenons in side-view imaging synthetic aperture radar (SAR) systems, especially in mountainous areas and densely populated urban areas. The shadow can block the target of the observation area, making it impossible to obtain the scattering characteristics of the target. The layover causes phase distortion and alters target characteristics. Shadow and layover severely hinder the interpretation of SAR images. To confront the above problems, a multi-angle fusion algorithm based on unsupervised progressive segmentation network is proposed. Firstly, inspired by mega-constellations of low earth orbit, a spaceborne SAR collaborative observation model is proposed to generate multi-angle images of fluctuant terrain. Secondly, according to the difference of echos in the shadow and layover regions, an unsupervised progressive segmentation network is designed to sequentially segment the shadow and layover regions. Finally, to improve the contrast and brightness of the fused SAR image, a single-scale weighted fusion algorithm is designed. Experiments were conducted using the simulated multi-angle SAR images. Compared with single-angle images, the accuracy of target detection and figure-of-merit of the fused SAR image are significantly higher than those of other methods.