Junction Point Detection Algorithm for SAR Image

In this paper, we propose a novel junction point detector based on an azimuth consensus for remote sensing images. To eliminate the impact of noise and some noncorrelated edges of SAR image, an azimuth consensus constraint is developed. In addition to detecting the locations of junctions at the subpixel level, this operator recognizes their structures as well. A new formula that includes a minimization criterion for the total weighted distance is proposed to compute the locations of junction points accurately. Compared with other well-known detectors, including Forstner, JUDOCA, and CPDA, the experimental results indicate that our operator outperforms them both in location accuracy of junction points and in angle accuracy of branch edges. Moreover, our method possesses satisfying robustness to the impact of noise and changes of the SAR images. Our operator can be potentially used to solve a number of problems in computer vision, such as SAR image registration, wide-baseline matching, and UAV navigation system