3D extraction from airborne SAR imagery

In the state-of-the-art of 3D extraction from SAR images, we can distinguish three main techniques: radarclinometry, interferometry and radargrammetry. Our project is to perform radargrammetry on high-resolution images recorded by the airborne sensor RAMSES designed and operated by ONERA. Such images allow the visualization of infrastructures and urban areas. First, we are interested in the geometric stereomodel and the location errors due to sensor parameter and disparity errors. We propose a rigorous theoretical error model for every viewing configuration. We use it in order to study the geometric potential of RAMSES sensor for three configurations. We are then dealing with the pertinence of strong reflectors. Their study is based on the analysis of the 3D information extracted from matched points imaged as strong reflectors. For that purpose, we use RAMSES stereo images of an industrial site. Because of many metallic components, the image of this site presents a large quantity of strong echoes that makes difficult the visual interpretation of the scene. We show the first quantitative results on the potentiality of high- resolution radargrammetry on strong reflectors. This analysis allows us to conclude on the possibility of radargrammetric applications with high-resolution airborne sensors.