SAR Image Segmentation Based on Constrained Smoothing and Hierarchical Label Correction

Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) is widely used in the field of modern remote sensing due to its high resolution for a comparatively small antenna. However, there are still some difficulties in the processing of SAR images. In particular, accurate segmentation of small targets and image corners remains an important challenge, as these can easily be lost during conventional image smoothing and denoising methods. To address this, we propose an SAR image segmentation algorithm based on constrained smoothing and hierarchical label correction (CSHLC). First, a Canny algorithm is used to extract the edges of SAR images, and the Gaussian smoothing is performed on SAR images under edge constraints to achieve noise reduction so that the edges of small and big targets are well preserved. Second, a preliminary K-means clustering is conducted on the smoothing results, and then, a Markov random field (MRF) model is used on the clustering results (“original label” results), iteratively calculating a maximum likelihood set of pixel labels. Finally, through two label correction methods, pixel group counting comparison (PGCC) and gray similarity comparison (GSC), the labels of the MRF output are further checked and corrected to obtain final segmentation results. Compared with seven state-of-the-art algorithms, simulation results on both simulated SAR images and real SAR images show that the proposed CSHLC delivers higher accuracy while better retaining corners and small targets.