METHOD OF DETECTING MOVING OBJECTS AND ESTIMATING THEIR VELOCITY AND POSITION IN SAR IMAGES

A method of detecting moving objects and of estimating their velocity and position in SAR images includes the steps of generating a sequence of single-look SAR images which have the same polarization, are successive in time, and have a look center frequency which varies from one image to the next; detecting candidates for moving objects in the single-look SAR images of the sequence by searching for regions with a course of intensity that deviates from the environment; estimating the velocity of the detected candidates; and verifying the detected candidates as moving objects. The estimation of one or more velocity components of a detected candidate takes place jointly with the estimation of one or more position components of the candidate. A cost function is established as a function of the components to be estimated, taking into account the positions of the candidate in the individual single-look SAR images of the sequence, which cost function is minimized by means of an optimization method for the parameter or parameters to be estimated.