QUA-SAR – Quantum computing for radar remote sensing

Project duration: 1.10.2022 – 30.09.2026

ApplicationsOptimization

Mit dem Projekt QUA-SAR verbinden wir klassische Forschungsfelder der Radarfernerkundung – speziell des Synthetischen Apertur Radar (SAR) – mit innovativen Konzepten der Quantentechnologien.

To this end, we have identified six main areas of application: On the one hand, we will improve the performance of the radar sensors themselves. This includes optimising the radar antenna, the design of the transmission signal and the suppression of ambiguities. On the other hand, we are endeavouring to process the immense amounts of radar data more efficiently. To this end, we are researching quantum algorithms that will increase the performance of future radar sensors and accelerate radar data processing.

Motivation

Quantum technologies are an innovative and dynamic field of research with applications in radar remote sensing. Both the radar hardware and the radar signal processing are being developed in a fundamental way. In the QUA-SAR project, we are looking to explore and take advantage the possibilities afforded by quantum computers for solving complex processing and optimisation tasks in radar remote sensing. In the foreseeable future, quantum computing will allow us to solve certain computationally intensive tasks exponentially faster than classical computers. This opens up many new possible solutions for processing demanding and highly complex radar signals and evaluating radar data.

Challenge

Modern radar remote sensing, such as that used for Earth observation from space, is playing an increasingly important role in answering essential questions about climate dynamics. Previous space-based radar sensors were able to image Earth’s surface twice a year. Future radar observatories, on the other hand, will provide images of Earth’s entire surface up to twice a week – an incredibly valuable contribution to climate research! But this also means that we need ever more powerful radar sensors for Earth observation.

The primary challenges here are the speed and quality with which radar data can be acquired. For this purpose, we are developing innovative quantum algorithms that accelerate the design process of such systems or even make them possible in the first place. The second main application of novel quantum computation routines and methods is in the field of radar data processing. This ranges from the sharpening of raw SAR data to SAR interferometry and the scientific evaluation of SAR images. Here, too, we expect the use of quantum computers to offer unprecedented performance improvements.

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Poster QUA-SAR