SAR image recognition by integration of intensity and textural information

Abstract Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images exhibit many interesting peculiarities but are characterized by considerable speckle noise, which noticeably affects image quality. In this case, conventional statistical classifiers employing intensity data yield poor results. In order to improve classification methods, we suggest the use of co-operative low-level techniques, driven appropriately by a knowledge-basedstructure. In addition to the intensity image, an important role is also played by textural information obtained by fractal analysis. The resulting textural image has proved useful for both segmentation purposes and region characterization, and integrates the textural information obtained by conventional statistical methods. The system architecture is based on a database (blackboard type), where intermediate results can be stored, and on a control structure with a rule interpreter. Segmentation provides ‘elementary’ regions which are characterized by some features, and represent the symbolic data...