SBIR Phase I: Operational Monitoring of Large-Area Critical Infrastructure

该小企业创新研究 (SBIR) 第一阶段项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力是降低能源、交通和公用事业等关键基础设施部门内资产的地质灾害风险。更具体地说，所提出的技术将使卫星雷达测量和检测地面运动在观测区域覆盖很长距离并穿越不同地形和土地类型的应用中更加实用。该创新旨在证明多种成像频率和偏振的组合处理可以改善收集到的信息，并且全球导航卫星系统（GNSS）数据的融合可以用来帮助洞察。天基卫星雷达干涉测量在测量埋地管道、地基和铁轨道碴等空间敏感结构的位移方面的功效将在非常大的区域和线性距离上得到验证。该项目开发的技术可能通过实现比传统方法更及时、更具成本效益的监控能力，对上述行业产生积极影响。地理空间技术还可以使资产运营商在面对地质灾害威胁时更加主动，从而降低致命和环境破坏性故障的频率。这个小型企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目旨在解决天基卫星雷达干涉测量法作为监测关键基础设施资产表面运动威胁的手段的主要缺点。虽然针对特定类型地形的干涉测量方法已得到充分记录和验证，但在具有不同地形和雷达散射机制的大面积区域产生相干地面运动结果的方法尚未成功部署。此外，尽管将相对视线卫星观测结果转化为与资产监测相关的地面运动分量的重要一步，但将多个干涉测量观测结果组合在一起来分解地面运动却很少受到研究关注。这项研究工作旨在证明使用多种成像频率和偏振并结合其干涉测量结果的有效性，以创建具有不同植被程度的区域上的地面运动的更连续的视图。该项目还可以证明，结合小基线子集和持久散射干涉测量方法可以提高土地类型变化产生多种散射机制的区域上解析散射体的密度。该团队还试图证明 GNSS 数据在参考设置过程中的使用和准确性，因为洞察力被转化为有关大地测量参考的绝对运动分量。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to lower the geohazard risks for assets within critical infrastructure sectors such as energy, transportation, and utilities. More specifically, the proposed technology will make measuring and detecting ground motion with satellite radar more practical in applications where the observed areas cover very long distances and traverse varying terrain and land types. The innovation seeks to demonstrate that the combined processing of multiple imaging frequencies and polarizations can improve the information collected and that the fusion of global navigation satellite system (GNSS) data can be used to aid insight. The efficacy of space-based satellite radar interferometry in measuring shifts in spatially-sensitive structures such as buried pipelines, foundations, and rail track ballast will be demonstrated over very large areas and linear distances. The technology developed in this project may have a positive impact on the aforementioned sectors by enabling monitoring capabilities that are timelier and more cost-effective than traditional approaches. The geospatial technology may also enable asset operators to be more proactive when it comes to geohazard threats, lowering the frequency of fatal and environmentally-damaging failures.This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project seeks to address the key shortcomings of space-based satellite radar interferometry as a means to monitor surface motion threats to critical infrastructure assets. While interferometric approaches for specific types of terrain have been well documented and validated, approaches that produce coherent ground motion results over very large areas with varying terrain and radar scattering mechanisms have not been successfully deployed. Furthermore, combining multiple interferometric observations together to decompose ground motion has received little research attention despite being an important step in translating the relative line-of-sight satellite observations into ground motion components relevant to asset monitoring. This research effort seeks to demonstrate the efficacy of using multiple imaging frequencies and polarizations and combining their interferometric results to create a more continuous view of ground motion over areas with varying degrees of vegetation. This project may also demonstrate that combining both small baseline subset and persistent scatter interferometric approaches can improve the density of resolved scatterers over areas where land type variations create a diverse range of scattering mechanisms. The team also seeks to demonstrate the use and accuracy of GNSS data in the reference setting process as insights are translated into absolute motion components about the geodetic reference.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.