An Imaging Algorithm of a Target with Arbitrary Motion for Ultra Wide-Band Radar with a Small Number of Antennas

Abstract

UWB (ultra wide-band) pulse radar is a promising candidate for surveillance systems. The fast SEABED (Shape Estimation Algorithm based on BST and Extraction of Directly scattered waves) imaging algorithm is deployed in the application of UWB pulse radar in fields that require real-time operations. However, since the SEABED algorithm uses signals received at multiple locations, this method either needs to scan antennas or to install many antennas. Such systems are inevitably costly and unrealistic for applications such as surveillance. To overcome this problem, a revised SEABED algorithm that estimates unknown target shape based on target motion using only a pair of fixed antennas was developed. However, the method cannot be used when the target moves arbitrarily because it assumes the target motion is parallel to the baseline of the pair of antennas. In this paper, we propose a new UWB radar imaging algorithm that is applicable even for targets with arbitrary motion. The proposed method introduces another antenna which is added to the pair of antennas used in the revised SEABED, and estimates unknown target motion based on the target surface using the three antennas. Next, the proposed method applies the SEABED imaging algorithm to the estimated motion and obtains the target image. Some numerical simulations establishes that the proposed method can accurately estimate the target shape even under severe conditions.