High-Resolution SAR Imagery Captured with Small UAS

SRI International has announced that it has successfully demonstrated high-resolution Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery from a small, low-cost hobby-grade unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The small form factor SAR instrument generates accessible radar imagery for detecting and measuring solid earth vertical deformation to improve prediction models for landslides, levee erosion, and earthquake and volcanic activity.

“SRI’s SAR instrument on a small UAV enables rapid and frequent visits over an area of interest,” said Simon Lee, M.S., senior program manager, Signals and Space Technology Laboratory, SRI International. “This capability can provide scientists with the datasets needed to improve their models and forecasts.”

SRI’s state-of-the-art SAR instrument is a compact radar system developed to generate high-resolution remote sensing imagery from small satellite and UAV platforms.