IMAGING ALTIMETER USING IMAGING DOPPLER INTERFEROMETRY

A PATENT HAS RECENTLY BEEN ISSUED FOR AN IMAGING DOPPLER INTERFEROMETER (IDI) WHICH IS A SYSTEM FOR SIMULTANEOUSLY MONITORING THE CONTENTS OF A VOLUME OF SPACE WITHOUT SCANNING. TO DATE, THE IDI HAS BEEN USED SUCCESSFULLY FOR MEASURING WIND PATTERNS IN 3 DIMENSIONS. THIS RESEARCH EXAMINES THE FEASIBILITY OF USING THIS TECHNOLOGY FOR GEOMORPHOLOGY STUDIES. EXPECTED RESULTS ARE CONTINUOUS SWATH DATA OF MORE THAN 1 KM WIDTH AND LESS THAN 1 M RESOLUTION. RESULTS WILL BE ACHIEVED WITHOUT SCANNING. NEAR REAL-TIME 3-D DISPLAYS SHOULD BE ACHIEVABLE. THIS TECHNOLOGY HAS INHERENT ADVANTAGES OVER CURRENT TECHNOLOGIESSUCH AS STEREOPHOTOGRAMMETRY AND SYNTHETIC APERTURE RADAR; NAMELY, FULL 3-D VIEWING WITHOUT SCANNING, INCREASED RESOLUTION, AND MEASUREMENTS FROM EITHER LOW OR HIGH FLYING AIRCRAFT.