Target indexing in SAR images using scattering centers and the Hausdorff distance

This paper is concerned with efficient and accurate indexing for target recognition in SAR images. We present a method that efficiently retrieves correct object hypotheses using the major axis of a pattern of scattering centers in SAR images and the Hausdorff distance measure. The features that we use are the locations of scattering centers in SAR returns. Experimental results show that indexing using major axis efficiently narrows down the number of candidate hypotheses and that the Hausdorff distance measure performs well in picking the correct hypothesis. These properties of the algorithm along with computational efficiency make our method a promising approach to target indexing in SAR images.