Feature tracking for projection registration in laboratory-scale reflective tomography laser radar imaging

In range-resolved reflective tomography laser radar imaging system, for accurate image reconstruction, all projections must be aligned to the center of target rotation. Due to the unknown location of the axis of rotation and random target translation, the center of target rotation in each projection cannot be measured accurately and images reconstructed based on range-resolved projections without registration would be dislocated. Here, we apply a feature tracking method to align projections data for tomographic reconstruction in laboratory-scale laser radar imaging. The target was placed on a spin table with an unknown and fixed axis, and the oscillatory motion of the target translation was simulated by a second order inertia filter to accord with the real satellites vibrations. The experimental simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of this method to improve images reconstruction equality. The application of this method to actual radar imaging in remote distance was discussed and the differences were compared with the lab setups.