Road Map Extraction using GMTI Tracking

For analyzing dynamic scenarios with many ground moving vehicles, airborne ground moving target indicator (GMTI) radar is well-suited due to its wide-area, all-weather, day/night, and real time capabilities. The generation of GMTI tracks from these data is the backbone for producing a "recognized ground picture" as well as for analyzing traffic flows. In this paper we discuss the benefits of GMTI tracking in view of extracting road map information. The resulting tracking-generated road maps are highly up-to-date and fairly precise. Moreover, their accuracy is quantitatively described. The precision of the extracted road segments can significantly be improved using smoothed or "retrodicted" tracks. In turn, the extracted road information is exploited for the precise tracking of succeeding road targets. The proposed approach is illustrated by a simulated example including Doppler and terrain obscuration, providing hints to the achievable road map accuracies