Adaptive SAR raw data reduction using fuzzy logic
Ursula C. Benz · Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIE · 1995
The Earth's surface and subsurface can be mapped with a very high resolution using synthetic aperture radar (SAR). It is an effective tool for remote sensing, since it works nearly independent from daylight and weather conditions. However, the huge amount of signal data difficults the on-board storage and the data downlink to the ground station. This paper presents a raw data compression algorithm using fuzzy logic, the fuzzy block adaptive quantizer (FBAQ), which improves the efficiency of the system. The data rate is reduced by a factor of 3 with a slight deterioration of the image quality. The performance of the FBAQ is compared with the traditional algorithm, a block adaptive quantizer and its hardware design for implementation in an airborne SAR system is shown.