The ARQUEO-SAR project’s goals are the analysis, design, development, validation and dissemination of an innovative radar system combining both SAR (synthetic-aperture radar) and GPR (ground penetrating radar) technologies. The system will be applied for the aerial localization with helicopters flying at low altitude of archaeological sites in hard to access areas, and also to determine the buried profiles of the archaeological ruins. The know-how gained in this project will also be useful in other sectors such as mining industry and space exploration.
SAR technology is a radar technique that covers large surface areas, while GPR technology enables a more detailed visualization of a reduced area, or more precisely, whatever is buried in that area. The combination of both techniques captures from the air a large amount of terrain data, which is richer than the data obtained by satellites and covers a larger region area than ground excavations. To validate the project, pre-romanic ruins will be identified at Doñana National Park and in the towns of San Bartolomé de Almonte and in Cartare Island.
TST will develop the software for the system, as well as image and signal processing algorithms. A new hardware platform based on FPGA technology for data processing will also be developed.
