Overview

A Note on the SAR Simulator

SAR Simulator allows simulating SAR images starting from a scene containing the 3D model of one or more objects placed on a background and the SAR acquisition parameters. The simulation distinguishes metallic objects from the background. Metallic objects are treated as perfect electrical conductors (PEC), while the background as a dielectric whose dielectric constant and roughness must be specified by the user. The background roughness is expressed in meters and represents the standard deviation of the background height. The more a background is rough, the greater will be the energy reflected in directions other than the specular one. The simulation is based on a physical model and takes into account possible multiple reflections.

Besides providing the 3D model of the objects to be simulated, the user must specify a set of parameters:

•Material type between metallic and dielectric

•Dielectric constant and roughness (only for dielectric material type)

•Sensor resolution and pixel spacing

•Sensor wavelength

•Acquisition incidence angle

•The output simulation is in HH polarization only, future developments will introduce the possibility to get also the VV one

The sensor resolution, pixel spacing and wavelength can also be set automatically if the simulation is initialized selecting a sensor from a catalog of existing sensors.

•Simulator

Requirements

Before using SAR Simulator, please make sure that you can install and run it on a computer that meets the minimal requirements specified in the installation instructions. Please also bear in mind that SAR Simulator is designed to operate with (and take advantage of) Graphical Processing Units (GPUs), which provide a significant speed up for the very algorithms used in SAR Simulator. In principle, the better the GPU, the faster simulated images are generated, and more complex, larger scenes can be targeted.

References

Knott, Eugene F., John F. Schaeffer, and Michael T. Tulley. Radar cross section. SciTech Publishing, 2004.