A shoreline-estimation system using remote radar sensing and image-processing techniques

This paper proposes a radar-based sensing system that estimates the coordinates for shorelines based on image-processing techniques. The proposed system provides shore estimations without appreciable loss of resolution and avoids the costs associated with bathymetries and/or satellite images. The system is comprised of a commercial radar, a GPS, and a heading sensor, which communicates to a central node that georeferences the radar measurements and runs the image-processing algorithms. A dedicated FPGA-based unit is implemented to interface with the radar internal signaling to extract and deliver the radar information. In the central node, a novel mathematical model is proposed for georefencing radar measurements to WSG-84 coordinates. A seam-carvinglike algorithm is applied over the estimated coordinates to create a shoreline based on a probability heat map. The system performance is validated using official geographical information, showing that a continuous shoreline can be generated with a CEP of up to 6 m without incurring elevated costs.