# US 2026/0098960 A1 · Assessment of building damages under different ground settlement movements using mt-insar monitoring technique > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2026/0098960 A1 - Document ID: US20260098960A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 19/352,787 - Filed: 2025-10-08 - Published: 2026-04-09 - Earliest claimed: 2024-10-08 - Assignees: The Chinese University of Hong Kong - Applicants: The Chinese University of Hong Kong - Inventors: Peifeng MA; Yi ZHENG; Guangen YE - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20260098960A1 ## CPC - G01S 13/9023: {combined with interferometric techniques} - G01S: RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES ## Abstract A Multi-temporal Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar method for jointly detecting persistent scatterers (PSs) and distributed scatterers (DSs) is provided. The method includes in a first-tier network, selecting a plurality of PSs if a value of temporal coherence of the PS is larger than a first predetermined threshold; performing beamforming and M-estimator to enhance robustness of parameter estimation; in a second-tier network, identifying new PSs from the plurality of PSs by performing same prior steps; continuously updating the network based on the newly selected PSs until the value of the temporal coherence is smaller than the first predetermined threshold; performing coherence-weight phase-linking to reconstruct optimal phases for detection of a distributed scatterer (DS); and identifying that a pixel is a DS if the temporal coherence is greater than a second predetermined threshold based on the reconstructed optimal phases. The method can be applied to assessment of building damages under different ground settlement movements. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A Multi-temporal Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (MT-InSAR) method for jointly detecting persistent scatterers (PSs) and distributed scatterers (DSs), the method comprising: in a first-tier network, selecting a plurality of persistent scatterers (PSs) if a value of temporal coherence of the PS is larger than a first predetermined threshold; performing beamforming and M-estimator to enhance robustness of parameter estimation; in a second-tier network, identifying new PSs from the PSs by performing same prior steps; continuously updating the network (first-tier or second-tier or both) based on the newly selected PSs until the value of the temporal coherence is smaller than the first predetermined threshold; performing coherence-weight phase-linking (CWPL) to reconstruct optimal phases for detection of a distributed scatterer (DS); and identifying that a pixel is a DS if the temporal coherence is greater than a second predetermined threshold based on the reconstructed optimal phases. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein for TerraSAR-X and COSMO-SkyMed data, the first predetermined threshold is 0.78. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the performing CWPL comprises assigning a larger weight to a higher coherence phase if the higher coherence indicates higher quality of images. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein for TerraSAR-X and COSMO-SkyMed data, the second predetermined threshold is 0.68. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) A method for assessing building damages under different ground settlement movements, the method comprising: performing the MT-InSAR method of claim 1; identifying building damage categories and extracting indicators; and assessing building risks by staged processes. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The method of claim 5, wherein the identifying building damage categories and extracting indicators comprises interpolating a cumulative deformation surface based on measurements obtained from the MT-InSAR method. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The method of claim 6, wherein deformation planes beneath each building are treated as triggers for building damages. ### Claim 8 (depends on 6) The method of claim 6, wherein types of damages vary depending on types of settlement areas. ### Claim 9 (depends on 5) The method of claim 5, wherein the assessing building risks by staged processes comprises: setting a third predetermined threshold for maximum settlement to identify building with a Negligible level of damage directly; calculating tensile strain; and determining building damage levels. ### Claim 10 (depends on 9) The method of claim 9, wherein the third predetermined threshold is set to 8 mm. ### Claim 11 A non-transitory computer readable medium having stored therein program instructions executable by a computing system to cause the computing system to perform a Multi-temporal Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (MT-InSAR) method for jointly detecting persistent scatterers (PSs) and distributed scatterers (DSs), the method comprising: in a first-tier network, selecting a plurality of persistent scatterers (PSs) if a value of temporal coherence of the PS is larger than a first predetermined threshold; performing beamforming and M-estimator to enhance robustness of parameter estimation; in a second-tier network, identifying new PSs from the plurality of PSs by performing same prior steps; continuously updating the network (first-tier or second-tier or both) based on the newly selected PSs until the value of the temporal coherence is smaller than the first predetermined threshold; performing coherence-weight phase-linking (CWPL) to reconstruct optimal phases for detection of a distributed scatterer (DS); and identifying that a pixel is a DS if the temporal coherence is greater than a second predetermined threshold based on the reconstructed optimal phases. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 11, wherein for TerraSAR-X and COSMO-SkyMed data, the first predetermined threshold is 0.78. ### Claim 13 (depends on 11) The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 11, wherein the performing CWPL comprises assigning a larger weight to a higher coherence phase if the higher coherence indicates higher quality of images. ### Claim 14 (depends on 11) The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 11, wherein for TerraSAR-X and COSMO-SkyMed data, the second predetermined threshold is 0.68. ### Claim 15 (depends on 1) A non-transitory computer readable medium having stored therein program instructions executable by a computing system to cause the computing system to perform a method for assessing building damages under different ground settlement movements, the method comprising: performing the MT-InSAR method of claim 1; identifying building damage categories and extracting indicators; and assessing building risks by staged processes. ### Claim 16 (depends on 15) The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein the identifying building damage categories and extracting indicators comprises interpolating a cumulative deformation surface based on measurements obtained from the MT-InSAR method. ### Claim 17 (depends on 16) The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 16, wherein deformation planes beneath each building are treated as triggers for building damages. ### Claim 18 (depends on 16) The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 16, wherein types of damages vary depending on types of settlement areas. ### Claim 19 (depends on 15) The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein the assessing building risks by staged processes comprises: setting a third predetermined threshold for maximum settlement to identify building with a Negligible level of damage directly; calculating tensile strain; and determining building damage levels. ### Claim 20 (depends on 19) The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 19, wherein the third predetermined threshold is set to 8 mm.