Maximum projection and velocity estimation algorithm for small moving target detection in space surveillance

The article presents a new method to detect small moving targets in space surveillance. Image sequences are processed to detect and track targets under the assumption that the data samples are spatially registered. Maximum value projection and normalization are performed to reduce the data samples and eliminate the background clutter. Targets are then detected through connected component analysis. The velocities of the targets are estimated by centroid localization and least squares regression. The estimated velocities are utilized to track the targets. A sliding neighborhood operation is performed prior to target detection to significantly reduce the computation while preserving as much target information as possible. Actual data samples are acquired to test the proposed method. Experimental results show that the method can efficiently detect small moving targets and track their traces accurately. The centroid locating precision and tracking accuracy of the method are within a pixel.