HOUGH Transform and Its Application for SAR Moving Target Detection with MATLAB Implementation

In this technical article, we conduct an in-depth exploration of the HOUGH transform and its MATLAB implementation for SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) moving target detection. The HOUGH transform serves as a fundamental image processing technique widely employed for shape detection, capable of identifying linear features, circular patterns, elliptical contours, and other geometric structures. For SAR moving target detection applications, the HOUGH transform algorithm is specifically adapted to recognize and trace movement trajectories of dynamic targets. Our MATLAB implementation demonstrates practical approaches including parameter configuration through functions like hough and houghpeaks, data preprocessing techniques for radar imagery, and result analysis using voting matrix visualization. The code structure incorporates optimized threshold settings for peak detection and interpolation methods for trajectory smoothing. Furthermore, we provide specialized technical recommendations for algorithm tuning, data normalization procedures, and performance evaluation metrics to enhance understanding and practical application of these advanced detection methodologies.