Automatic Processing Chain for the Generation of Simplified Sar Images of Large Scenes.

In this paper, an automatic processing chain, fully developed in C++, for the generation of simplified Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images of large urban scenarios is presented. The proposed method makes use of open GIS data and an open-source simulation technique based on ray tracing. The main novelties refer to: 1) the integration of a method for generating Three-Dimensional (3D) models of almost any arbitrary place on Earth, including in the model land cover information of the scene, 2) the possibility of setting the SAR parameters for the creation of images acquired under different geometries (e.g. satellite and airborne with arbitrary view (or look) angles), and 3) the ability to have at the end of the processing chain a geo-referenced image for comparisons with other types of data. The authors strongly believe that this paper can be of wide interest to researchers in the field of Remote Sensing (RS).