Utilizing phase for the grouping of PS in urban high-resolution in-SAR-images

Persistent Scatterer (PS) analysis of high-resolution space-borne SAR images has become an important means for remote sensing in urban regions, since many PS result from building facades. This offers the opportunity to recognize building structures (e.g., number of floors) from such pattern. In this contribution an approach is proposed to group sets of PS according to Gestalt principles. Stacking data from multiple similar orbits not only yields repeatability and enhanced visibility of object features in amplitude data - but also interferometric phases as a clear hint for height above ground. Here we compare Gestalt grouping utilizing this additional attribute against neglecting it. The experiments indicate that the use of such phase clearly helps improving recognition and reducing search effort.