Template-Based SAR ATR Performance Using Different Image Enhancement Techniques

The Lincoln Laboratory baseline ATR system for synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data applies a superresolution technique known as high definition imaging (HDI) before the input image is passed through the final target classification subsystem. In previous studies, it has been demonstrated that HDI improves target recognition performance significantly. Recently, however, several other viable SAR image enhancement techniques have been proposed and discussed in the literature which could be used in place of (or perhaps in conjunction with) the HDI technique. This paper compares the performance achieved by the Lincoln Laboratory template-based classification subsystem when these alternative image enhancement techniques are used instead of the HDI technique. In addition, empirical evidence is presented suggesting that target recognition performance could be further improved by fusing the classifier outputs generated by the best image enhancement techniques.