Manmade target extraction based on multistage decision and its application for change detection in polarimetric synthetic aperture radar image

Abstract. Targets of interest are different in various applications in which manmade targets, such as aircraft, ships, and buildings, are given more attention. Manmade target extraction methods using synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images are designed in response to various demands, which include civil uses, business purposes, and military industries. This plays an increasingly vital role in monitoring, military reconnaissance, and precision strikes. Achieving accurate and complete results through traditional methods is becoming more challenging because of the scattered complexity of polarization in polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (PolSAR) image. A multistage decision-based method is proposed composed of power decision, dominant scattering mechanism decision, and reflection symmetry decision. In addition, the theories of polarimetric contrast enhancement, generalized Y decomposition, and maximum eigenvalue ratio are applied to assist the decision. Fully PolSAR data are adopted to evaluate and verify the approach. Experimental results show that the method can achieve an effective result with a lower false alarm rate and clear contours. Finally, on this basis, a universal framework of change detection for manmade targets is presented as an application of our method. Two sets of measured data are also used to evaluate and verify the effectiveness of the change-detection algorithm.