Special issue on advances in real-time image processing for remote sensing

The latest-generation earth observation instruments on airborne and satellite platforms are currently producing an almost continuous high-dimensional data stream. This exponentially growing data poses a new challenge for realtime image processing and recognition. Therefore, real-time image data processing on satellites plays a great important role in the field of space applications. In the past, due to the technical limitations, image processing systems on satellite can only process real-time signals with low data rates and low storage requirements, while image processing for massive data is difficult to achieve. In recent years, with the development of technologies such as the new Aerospace Digital Signal Processor (DSP) and large-scale anti-radiation field programmable gate array (FPGA), the real-time image data processing on satellites has sufficient technical conditions. Real-time image data processing on satellites replaces the traditional way that data processing is completed after the original data transfer to the ground system. The main advantages are: (1) It is not necessary to compress and transmit the original image data collected by the sensor, which can provide higher precision raw data to the processor. (2) Image processing on satellites can effectively reduce the communication overhead between satellite and ground equipment. (3) Image processing on satellites can reduce the overhead of ground data processing equipment. (4) Image processing on satellites, and the result can be obtained in real-time, so that the astronauts can respond faster to the target operation. Real-time image data processing on satellites has its limitations. It requires spacecraft to provide enough space for image processing equipment and also makes partial power consumption. However, due to the continuous development of image processing technology, the impact of these shortcomings is gradually reduced. It is believed that the benefits of image processing on satellites will overcome its limitations, and the real-time image processing system will become an important and complete component of the spacecraft.