Applying an adaptive signal identification method to improve vessel echo detection and tracking for seasonde hf radar

To enhance remote sensing for maritime safety and security, various sensors need to be integrated into a centralized maritime surveillance system (MSS). High-frequency (HF) radar systems are a type of mainstream technology widely used in international marine remote sensing and have great potential to detect distant sea surface targets due to their over-the-horizon (OTH) capability. However, effectively recognizing targets in spectra with intrinsic strong disturbance echoes and random environmental noise is still challenging. To avoid the above problem, this paper proposes an adaptive signal identification method to detect target signals based on a rapid and flexible threshold. By integrating a watershed segmentation algorithm, the subsequent direction result can be used to automatically compute the direction of arrival (DOA) of the targets. To assist in the orientation of the object, forward intersections are integrated with the technique. Hence, the proposed technique can effectively recognize vessel echoes with automatic identification system (AIS) verification. Experiments have demonstrated the promising feasibility of the proposed method’s performance.