Modeling and Simulation of Very High Spatial Resolution UXOs and Landmines in a Hyperspectral Scene for UAV Survey

Milan Bajić

doi:10.3390/rs13050837

Abstract

This paper presents methods for the modeling and simulation of explosive target placement in terrain spectral images (i.e., real hyperspectral 90-channel VNIR data), considering unexploded ordnances, landmines, and improvised explosive devices. The models used for landmine detection operate at sub-pixel levels. The presented research uses very fine spatial resolutions, 0.945 × 0.945 mm for targets and 1.868 × 1.868 cm for the scene, where the number of target pixels ranges from 52 to 116. While previous research has used the mean spectral value of the target, it is omitted in this paper. The model considers the probability of detection and its confidence intervals, which are derived and used in the analysis of the considered explosive targets. The detection results are better when decreased target endmembers are used to match the scene resolution, rather than using endmembers at the full resolution of the target. Unmanned aerial vehicles, as carriers of snapshot hyperspectral cameras, enable flexible target resolution selection and good area coverage.

Highlights

There are several promising sensor technologies, such as hyperspectral, non-linear junction detection (NLJD), LIDAR, longwave infrared, magnetometer, and ground-penetrating radar (GPR); in this article, we focus on passive hyperspectral data
We considered improvised explosive devices (IED), unexploded ordnances (UXOs), and landmines
The dimensions of each UXO target were, decreased to 5.0588% and, after this step, they could be implanted into the pixels of hyperspectral data of the terrain

Summary

Introduction

“Despite twenty-first-century technological advances by Western militaries for demining and the removal of improvised explosive devices, humanitarian demining relies mostly on mid-twentieth-century technology” [1]. We share this opinion—at least, regarding aerial survey technologies—we attempt to contribute to advancement by supporting the deployment of hyperspectral surveys by civilian users exposed to explosive device threats. The civilian users that we consider are, among others: Single or group ground vehicles of humanitarian demining organizations, traveling from camp to the working area and returning, logistics convoys, medical, humanitarian aid, Red Cross, reconstruction, security forces, civilian VIP travelers, and others. The focus of the technology reviewed and used in this work mostly considers the platforms, sensors, and software available to the civil sector

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion