IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Magazine - June 2014 - 83

ConfeRenCe RePoRT
AKIRA HIROSE,
The University of Tokyo, Japan

APSAR 2013 Tsukuba, Japan-Report

I. INTRODUCTION
he 2013 Asia-Pacific Conference on Synthetic
Aperture Radar (http://www.apsar2013.org/) was
held by IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing (GRSS)
Japan Chapter and Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers (IEICE) Electronics Society on September 23-27, 2013, with a key
phrase of "Overcoming the Hardships: Responding to
Disasters with SAR." APSAR is an international conference series devoted to the development and applications of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and other radar
technology. With the dramatic increase of the number
of operational SAR systems in recent years, there is
now a strong demand for more gatherings where the
regional SAR and radar communities can share their
technical expertise. Every other year, APSAR provides
experts of SAR and related fields with an opportunity
to present their latest research and development. It
is an intensive forum for discussion with colleagues
gathering from many countries in the Asia-Pacific
region and beyond. The conference covers a wide variety of SAR and radar related topics including SAR system design and concepts, signal processing, analysis
techniques and SAR applications.

II. APSAR 2013 TSUKUBA WITH THE
MAIN THEME "DISASTER MONITORING"
Over the last decade, the world has experienced the phenomenal power of Mother Nature through a number of
catastrophes striking the Asia-Pacific and other regions.
After such events, we rebuild our lives and infrastructure, and pose questions of how we could have been better prepared for them and how we might better respond
as they unfold. Radar is known not only for its utility
in situations where darkness, clouds, or smoke would
obscure the view of optical sensors, but also for its abilDigital Object Identifier 10.1109/MGRS.2014.2316516
Date of publication: 24 June 2014

june 2014

ieee Geoscience and remote sensing magazine

ity to gather various kinds of data such as phase and
polarization besides intensity. Then it is quite natural to
ask how best to utilize SAR and other radar technologies
in preparing against and responding to disasters.
The answers involve scientific and technical innovations in diverse areas such as information extraction
from radar data, new imaging techniques, new issues
on observation modalities and strategies, and constellation coordination for pre- and postevent acquisition
and analysis of data. To meaningfully address these
issues, SAR/radar scientists and engineers in this region
need to strengthen the partnership with first responders and various agencies responsible for safety and security, and work together in the development efforts.
The main theme of APSAR 2013 was "Disaster Monitoring." Papers relating to the use of SAR for disaster
monitoring were especially encouraged for submission. In addition to the regular sessions, APSAR 2013
offered a special session on this issue. The Conference provided attendees with an opportunity to think
about how each of us can contribute through SAR
technology to "overcome the hardships" after natural
disasters to brighten our future.
III. PLENARY TALKS AND TECHNICAL SESSIONS
Participants in APSAR 2013 Tsukuba enjoyed active
discussion widely on SAR, its applications and future
technology. On the first conference day, keynote lectures were given by Dr. Masanobu Shimada of JAXA,
Prof. Wen Hong of MITL-IECAS, Prof. Young Kil Kwag
of Korea Aerospace University, Dr. Manfred Zink of
DLR, Mr. Robertus Heru Triharjanto of LAPAN and
Prof. Wolfgang-Martin Boerner of UIC as priming
stimuli on technology advancement as well as scientific/engineering policy. Fig. 1 shows the attendees
gathering after the keynote plenary session on September 24, 2013, at Tsukuba Epochal Main Lobby (All
photos: Manabu Watanabe, JAXA).
2168-6831/14©2014IEEE

http://www.apsar2013.org/

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