ST LOUIS – Iceye unveiled a brand new imaging mode that distinguishes human-made from natural objects and highlights moving vehicles.
For Dwell, the synthetic aperture radar imaging mode Iceye announced May 22 on the GEOINT Symposium here, satellites concentrate on an area for 25-seconds. Iceye’s traditional imagery is derived from 10-second views.
Iceye developed Dwell to assist analysts quickly distinguish buildings and vehicles from forests, fields, ice and water. In a grassy field, the reflections of the microwave pulses off the bottom might be similar throughout the sphere of view.
“But when it’s a automobile or a constructing, the way in which that it reflects the microwave pulses might be very different,” Eric Jensen, Iceye U.S. CEO, told . “The algorithm principally says the glinting off this thing is far different in several locations. That’s candidate for a man-made thing.”
Iceye uses shiny colours to spotlight built objects In Dwell imagery.
Despite increasing reliance on machines to investigate satellite imagery and data, human analysts proceed to play a crucial role. In consequence, Iceye desires to make it easier for people without extensive experience with radar imagery to quickly make sense of it, Jensen said.
Specializing in an area for 25 seconds also increases image acuity and clarity, Jensen said, making Dwell useful for skilled analysts too.
As well as, Dwell imagery is helpful for detecting tanks or equipment hidden under trees, Jensen said. “The possibilities that the microwaves make their way through the foliage and bounce back off the tank are much greater,” he added.
John Cartwright, ICEYE data product head, said in an announcement that Dwell will help people “higher understand and characterize what is going on and changing on the bottom in all lighting and weather conditions.”