Registration of Very High Resolution SAR and Optical Images

The combined use of high resolution SAR and optical images is of great interest, especially in complex scenes like urban areas. However, this requires accurate registration of images with big radiometric and geometric differences. This paper describes an accurate and fast registration method that takes advantage of the geolocation accuracy of current sensors, instead of using more complex feature- or intensity-based methods. The proposed method can handle the ambiguities that arise in layover areas using a DEM or DSM. This is illustrated using several VHR SAR and optical images, including one urban scene in which a photogrammetric DSM was used.