Change detection on millimeter-wave SAR images for C-IED applications

Countering improvised explosives devices (IEDs) is a major concern for troops in peacekeeping and peace- enforcing missions: the threat to become a victim of terrorist's attacks by IEDs is present everywhere. Sensors onboard of unmanned areal vehicles (UAVs) are one option to be able to survey a larger terrain for IEDs. Among other imaging sensors, synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) can contribute to detect and classify the signature of suspicious devices on the ground. Experiments have been conducted with a millimeter-wave SAR operating simultaneously at 35 GHz and 94 GHz. Generic IEDs were put into the field and images have been generated for the co- and cross-polarized channel at both radar frequencies. A change detection algorithm has been applied to the data, which has been specially optimized for the application. The paper describes the experiments and discusses the detection algorithm in detail.