Patent Document ID: 9146312
Application ID: 13115654
Patent Status: 1

Claim One:
1. An apparatus for processing a sequence of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) image frames to facilitate compression of the sequence for transmission on a communication link, the apparatus configured to perform a plurality of acts, the plurality of acts comprising: receiving, at the apparatus, an input sequence of input SAR image frames that each contain scene content represented as a corresponding array of pixel intensity values, wherein the apparatus is located on an aircraft; processing, at the apparatus, each of a plurality of said input SAR image frames to produce from said input sequence a plurality of processed image frames in an output sequence that is to be viewed at a viewing frame rate, the processing includes: cropping at least one image in the plurality of said input SAR images to equalize range and azimuth extents across the plurality of said input SAR images; and rotating at least one image in the plurality of said input SAR images to a rotational orientation that is shared with at least one other image in the plurality of said input SAR images, the rotational orientation being relative to a center of a scene captured in the plurality of said input SAR image frames; and performing inter-frame compression over the processed image frames to generate a compressed video stream; and transmitting the compressed video stream on a communication link between an airborne processing platform which includes the apparatus and a remotely located ground-station.