Abstract
While optical cameras or laser systems are widely used for mobile mapping low attention was payed for radar systems. Due to new semiconductor technologies, compact and leight weight SAR systems based on the Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) principle in the millimeter wave domain can serve for mobile radar mapping on cars. For mapping of long stripes along roads in close range a special strategy for focusing of SAR images was developed. Hereby local adapted planes for processing are used considering the IMU data of the sensor. An experimental system was designed for high resolution radar mapping of urban scenes in close range geometry. This small and leight weighted system has a bandwidth of 30 GHz (5 mm resolution) and operates with 300 GHz in the lower terahertz domain. Experiments with a van in an urban scenario were carried out for proof of applicability of an operating SAR system resolving objects in the subcentimeter domain. The results show that narrow cracks in the asphalt of the road are visible and the measuring of small metallic objects placed in the scene is possible. Based on this mobile mapping techniques a first result from an acquisition of vertical facade structure is shown.
Highlights
Synthetic aperture radar imaging from satellites or airborne platforms is a well established technology for mapping the earth surface
While high resolution mobile mapping systems are currently dominated by camera or laser based scanning systems (Ellum and El-Sheimy, 2002, Paparoditis et al, 2012), low attraction was payed for radar systems with high imaging resolution capabilities
The development of this experimental system is based on the MIRANDA-94 Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) radar system, which was designed as a compact and light weigth airborne remote sensing SAR at Fraunhofer FHR (Stanko et al, 2011)
Summary
Synthetic aperture radar imaging from satellites or airborne platforms is a well established technology for mapping the earth surface. Conventional airborne SAR systems operating usually in X- or Ka-band are not practical for the usage of car-borne platforms due to their aperture size - far field condition for close distances - and their limited resolution capacity. We use locally adapted planes for focusing considering the IMU data of the sensor These experiments should give first results on processing such high frequencies and bandwidths and to what extend fine-scaled signatures and object textures in mobile mapping scenarios can be resolved by radar. A few millimeters deep cracks in the asphalt of the road are displayed in the SAR image These experiments can serve as groundwork for a future use of such a SAR sensor even on a multicopter
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