IDS GeoRadar, part of Hexagon, has announced the new SMV algorithm for Guardian, its software for slope monitoring.

Developed by IDS GeoRadar’s R&D team together with major players of the mining and monitoring industry, SMV is the result of a two-year collaboration and development, it says.

“Guardian SMV provides a revolutionary approach to radar monitoring as the first algorithm specifically designed for low vegetated assets’ management,” IDS said. “Guardian SMV processes radar data for the early detection and visualisation of very slow deformations in low vegetated environments – typical of tailing dams. The implementation of an innovative velocity estimator extends the sensitivity to impressive low-end velocity ranges, similar to satellite InSAR.”

IDS says Guardian SMV provides a unique reduced noise level with an optimal filtering of the noise caused by low vegetation and drastically reduces the decorrelation effects on radar data.

Guardian SMV performs an efficient and continuous monitoring of low vegetated environments supporting professionals in the early detection of ground instabilities, it added. This sees the solution provide “unprecedent benefits” for continuous monitoring of very slow movements, reducing the negative effects of low vegetation on radar data and providing a reliable detection of displacements in the few mm per month velocity ranges.