INSIGHT2026 WORKSHOP

Background

This workshop aims to bring together the scientific community and industry working on advanced processing techniques for spaceborne systems with the goal of fostering scientific exchange, accelerating innovation, and supporting the exploitation of emerging capabilities for the characterization of moving targets, sensor fusion, and AI-driven analytics in defense, security, and geointelligence applications. The event will focus on cutting-edge methods for high-resolution SAR imaging, long-dwell and time-resolved observation, multichannel and multistatic configurations, interferometric and tomographic techniques, AI-driven processing, and the integration of SAR with multisource capabilities. A session on new algorithms exploiting optical imagery will be included as well. The applications addressed in this workshop are expected to extend beyond traditional EO techniques and explicitly encompass domains related to security, situational awareness, and geospatial intelligence. Particular emphasis will be placed on methodologies that enhance the ability to detect, characterize, and monitor critical dynamics — such as activities around strategic infrastructures, ground and maritime moving targets, and rapid environmental or anthropogenic changes.

Objectives

By gathering experts from academia, research institutes and industry, the workshop seeks to:

• assess the current state of the art in advanced SAR and optical signal processing;
• identify key challenges and emerging research directions;
• promote collaboration on algorithms and processing environments;
• support the preparation for future missions;
• accelerate the development and uptake of enhanced SAR-based applications across security domain.

Ultimately, the workshop intends to provide a platform for discussion, knowledge sharing and community building around the processing concepts and data-exploitation techniques that are transforming the use of spaceborne radar and optical sensors.

Topics

The workshop will be structured around the following thematic areas:

1) Advanced SAR Imaging, Focusing and Signal analysis techniques
2) Interferometric SAR (InSAR), PolInSAR & TomoSAR for critical infrastructures and security
3) Advanced Multichannel SAR: HRWS, DBF, MIMO
4) Bistatic / Multistatic / Formation-Flying SAR
5) Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning contribution to signal processing
6) SAR + Electronic Intelligence (ELINT) Integrated Techniques
7) Optical Advancements

For more information regarding the workshop and how to submit an abstract, please access the event website https://insight2026.esa.int/