A Real-Time Effectiveness Evaluation Method for Remote Sensing Satellite Clusters on Moving Targets

Sensors (Basel). 2022 Apr 13;22(8):2993. doi: 10.3390/s22082993.

Abstract

Recently, remote sensing satellites have become increasingly important in the Earth observation field as their temporal, spatial, and spectral resolutions have improved. Subsequently, the quantitative evaluation of remote sensing satellites has received considerable attention. The quantitative evaluation method is conventionally based on simulation, but it has a speed-accuracy trade-off. In this paper, a real-time evaluation model architecture for remote sensing satellite clusters is proposed. Firstly, a multi-physical field coupling simulation model of the satellite cluster to observe moving targets is established. Aside from considering the repercussions of on-board resource constraints, it also considers the consequences of the imaging's uncertainty effects on observation results. Secondly, a moving target observation indicator system is developed, which reflects the satellite cluster's actual effectiveness in orbit. Meanwhile, an indicator screening method using correlation analysis is proposed to improve the independence of the indicator system. Thirdly, a neural network is designed and trained for stakeholders to realize a rapid evaluation. Different network structures and parameters are comprehensively studied to determine the optimized neural network model. Finally, based on the experiments carried out, the proposed neural network evaluation model can generate real-time, high-quality evaluation results. Hence, the validity of our proposed approach is substantiated.

Keywords: effectiveness evaluation; moving targets; neural network; remote sensing satellite cluster; simulation.