Using Graphics Processing Units as Stream-Processors for Real-Time Simulation of High-Resolution Synthetic Aperture Radar Images

摘要

New commercial high-resolution synthetic aperture radar (SAR)satellite systems offer new possibilities for radar remote sensing. SAR images are difficult to understand and the interpretation of SAR images requires theoretical knowledge and practical experience. Fast and interactive SAR simulators can assist the SAR image interpretation training and they are also valuable tools for the SAR image interpretation itself. Using Graphics Processing Units (GPU), it is possible to simulate SAR images in real-time. The single-bounce reflections can be simulated using the rasterization approach. For real-time double-bouncing simulation a GPU based ray-tracing approach can be used. In this approach, the GPU is used as a stream processor and the texture information is interpreted as data elements instead of pixel elements. In this way, a real-time simulation, including single-and double-bounce reflections, can be achieved even for complex scenes.