Active Imaging Techniques

[Hoontaek Lee]

Hi,
In the Specular reflection animation, if the surface is very smooth, then how can the system detect the signal, especially at the location in the video? I cannot see a backscattered signal toward the satellite.

[Kai Heckel]

Hi Hoontaek,
thank you for your question.

In the specific case of specular reflection, there is no signal returned to the sensor (imagine a mirror to which you point a flashlight from the side). Therefore, calm water surfaces are perfect examples of specular reflection with extremely low backscatter values, making them the darkest pixels in the image.

Hope this helps.