The U.S. Army has recently developed a single-operator, low frequency, non-motorized experimental radar system called “Templar”. This system is intended to collect data at geometries approximating those encountered by small, unmanned aerial systems (sUAS). As a result, it is smaller than typical vehicle-mounted systems, enabling it to be pulled by the operator and more easily image areas that are not accessible to motorized, vehicle-mounted systems. Since it is intended to operate at lower frequencies (500 MHz – 1500 MHz), its transmit and receive antennas are larger than those of many airborne systems. Hence, an appropriate physical structure—including a mast and a cart to carry necessary electronics—were required elements of the system design. In what follows we describe the system in more detail, and we discuss the initial data collections performed to verify system performance, noting certain problems encountered. Finally, we examine imagery from this initial data set and present plans for future data collection and processing.
Signal processing techniques employed by a software-defined radar are presented. First, the radar system is described in brief, illustrating how software-defined radios (SDRs) are leveraged to implement a baseline radar functionality. Next, multiple, required processing steps are presented, showing how target signatures can be extracted from raw radar measurements. All of these techniques are applied to the moving target indication (MTI) problem, and examples of multiple moving target signatures are displayed.
KEYWORDS: Radar, Target detection, Antennas, Global Positioning System, Signal generators, Reflectors, Signal processing, Clocks, Field programmable gate arrays, Transmitters
A data collection system using software defined radios to perform multi-static radar measurements is presented. The basic architecture and operational capabilities of the selected software defined radios (SDRs) are described. Issues associated with device synchronization are discussed, and waveform implementation procedures are also outlined. Finally, results of preliminary experiments are presented, indicating the potential of SDRs for realizing a cost-effective radar system testbed. In particular, it is demonstrated that by rearranging the SDR configuration, it becomes possible to realize various receive array configurations for detection of moving targets.
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