Effect of drone flight speed on intensity images in drone-based synthetic aperture radar analysis of mine slopes

ABSTRACT

Drone-based synthetic aperture radar (SAR) analysis offers a simple and efficient technique for acquiring observational data from various research areas. However, fundamental research on observation techniques, including the investigation of drone flight parameters, remains insufficient. This study focuses on improving the resolution of intensity images of a single-look complex (SLC) via drone-based SAR observations. By conducting experiments at different flight speeds and analysing the obtained SLC images, we demonstrated that higher drone speeds resulted in enhanced image resolution under the conditions investigated at flight speeds of ≤ 5 m s⁻¹. A comparison with satellite SAR images highlighted the superior performance of drone-based SAR in capturing topographic features. The analysis also suggested that factors including trajectory deviation and Doppler rate affected the resolution and azimuth position. The simulation results supported the experimental findings on the relationship between drone speed and resolution. Our results emphasize the potential of drone-based SAR observations for monitoring slope failures and suggest the importance of the drone flight parameter selection. In the future, drone-based SAR is expected to produce intensity images of slopes and locate slope deformations associated with blasting for mining and earthquakes.

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to the editor and reviewer for their review and constructive comments that improved the original manuscript. The experimental site was provided by Nittetsu Mining Co, Ltd. The ALOS-2 data used in this study were provided through PIXEL (PALSAR Interferometry Consortium to Study our Evolving Land Surface). We would like to express our sincere thanks to them. The authors also thank Motohiro Fujii for his assistance with the experiments.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

There are restrictions on sharing due to the inclusion of data ownership.

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/2150704X.2024.2354070.

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by the “Fukada Research Grant” from the Fukada Geological Research Institute (FY2022) and by the JSPS Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (JP). We would like to express our gratitude for their support.