Radar Model Research Articles

Research on Efficient Reinforcement Learning for Adaptive Frequency-Agility Radar.

Modern radar jamming scenarios are complex and changeable. In order to improve the adaptability of frequency-agile radar under complex environmental conditions, reinforcement learning (RL) is introduced into the radar anti-jamming research. There are two aspects of the radar system that do not obey with the Markov decision process (MDP), which is the basic theory of RL: Firstly, the radar cannot confirm the interference rules of the jammer in advance, resulting in unclear environmental boundaries; secondly, the radar has frequency-agility characteristics, which does not meet the sequence change requirements of the MDP. As the existing RL algorithm is directly applied to the radar system, there would be problems, such as low sample utilization rate, poor computational efficiency and large error oscillation amplitude. In this paper, an adaptive frequency agile radar anti-jamming efficient RL model is proposed. First, a radar-jammer system model based on Markov game (MG) established, and the Nash equilibrium point determined and set as a dynamic environment boundary. Subsequently, the state and behavioral structure of RL model is improved to be suitable for processing frequency-agile data. Experiments that our proposal effectively the anti-jamming performance and efficiency of frequency-agile radar.

Estimating Coastal Winds by Assimilating High-Frequency Radar Spectrum Data in SWAN.

Many activities require accurate wind and wave forecasts in the coastal ocean. The assimilation of fixed buoy observations into spectral wave models such as SWAN (Simulating Waves Nearshore) can provide improved estimates of wave forecasts fields. High-frequency (HF) radar observations provide a spatially expansive dataset in the coastal ocean for assimilation into wave models. A forward model for the HF Doppler spectrum based on first- and second-order Bragg scattering was developed to assimilate the HF radar wave observations into SWAN. This model uses the spatially varying wave spectra computed using the SWAN model, forecast currents from the Navy Coastal Ocean Model (NCOM), and system parameters from the HF radar sites to predict time-varying range-Doppler maps. Using an adjoint of the HF radar model, the error between these predictions and the corresponding HF Doppler spectrum observations can be translated into effective wave-spectrum errors for assimilation in the SWAN model for use in correcting the wind forcing in SWAN. The initial testing and validation of this system have been conducted using data from ten HF radar sites along the Southern California Bight during the CASPER-West experiment in October 2017. The improved winds compare positively to independent observation data, demonstrating that this algorithm can be utilized to fill an observational gap in the coastal ocean for winds and waves.

A Data Fusion Model for Millimeter-Wave Radar and Vision Sensor in Advanced Driving Assistance System

A Data Fusion Model for Millimeter-Wave Radar and Vision Sensor in Advanced Driving Assistance System

Target Tactical Intention Recognition in Multiaircraft Cooperative Air Combat

Accurately identifying the tactical intention of the target can facilitate the prediction of the opponent’s behavior and improve the efficiency of collaborative decision. We have observed that traditional methods could achieve high recognition rate on conventional tactical intent. Nevertheless, their performance would deteriorate seriously when recognizing cooperative tactical intention in multiaircraft air combat environment. The main reason resides on key features that are difficult to extract for traditional methods. To this end, this paper proposes a novel approach to recognizing tactical intention of multiaircraft cooperative air combat. Specifically, we employ support vector machine (SVM) to forecast the attack intention based on 19 low correlation features. The purpose of the employment of SVM is to avoid local optimization and reduce data dimension. Moreover, we use three models, i.e., dynamic Bayesian network (DBN), radar model, and threat assessment model to extract crucial information regarding maneuver occupancy, silent penetration, and attack tendency. The extracted information would make great contribution to the recognition accuracy of six types of cooperative tactics. Finally, we learn a decision tree model on train samples processed by above two phases to classify different tactical intention. In order to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method, we use data sets from a loop simulation platform. The experimental results have approved the superiority of our method via the comparison to several baseline methods with respect to recognition rate and efficiency. In addition, we underline that our method also performs well on incomplete and uncertain information.

A Calibration/Disaggregation Coupling Scheme for Retrieving Soil Moisture at High Spatio-Temporal Resolution: Synergy between SMAP Passive Microwave, MODIS/Landsat Optical/Thermal and Sentinel-1 Radar Data.

Soil moisture (SM) data are required at high spatio-temporal resolution—typically the crop field scale every 3–6 days—for agricultural and hydrological purposes. To provide such high-resolution SM data, many remote sensing methods have been developed from passive microwave, active microwave and thermal data. Despite the pros and cons of each technique in terms of spatio-temporal resolution and their sensitivity to perturbing factors such as vegetation cover, soil roughness and meteorological conditions, there is currently no synergistic approach that takes advantage of all relevant (passive, active microwave and thermal) remote sensing data. In this context, the objective of the paper is to develop a new algorithm that combines SMAP L-band passive microwave, MODIS/Landsat optical/thermal and Sentinel-1 C-band radar data to provide SM data at the field scale at the observation frequency of Sentinel-1. In practice, it is a three-step procedure in which: (1) the 36 km resolution SMAP SM data are disaggregated at 100 m resolution using MODIS/Landsat optical/thermal data on clear sky days, (2) the 100 m resolution disaggregated SM data set is used to calibrate a radar-based SM retrieval model and (3) the so-calibrated radar model is run at field scale on each Sentinel-1 overpass. The calibration approach also uses a vegetation descriptor as ancillary data that is derived either from optical (Sentinel-2) or radar (Sentinel-1) data. Two radar models (an empirical linear regression model and a non-linear semi-empirical formulation derived from the water cloud model) are tested using three vegetation descriptors (NDVI, polarization ratio (PR) and radar coherence (CO)) separately. Both models are applied over three experimental irrigated and rainfed wheat crop sites in central Morocco. The field-scale temporal correlation between predicted and in situ SM is in the range of 0.66–0.81 depending on the retrieval configuration. Based on this data set, the linear radar model using PR as a vegetation descriptor offers a relatively good compromise between precision and robustness all throughout the agricultural season with only three parameters to set. The proposed synergistical approach combining multi-resolution/multi-sensor SM-relevant data offers the advantage of not requiring in situ measurements for calibration.

Distributed Multistatic Sky-Wave Over-the-Horizon Radar’s Positioning Algorithm for the Marine Target

This paper establishes a distributed multistatic sky-wave over-the-horizon radar (DMOTHR) model and proposes a semidefinite relaxation positioning (SDP) algorithm to locate marine ship targets. In the DMOTHR, it is difficult to locate the target due to the complexity of the signal path propagation. Therefore, this paper uses the ionosphere as the reflector to convert the propagation path from a polyline to a straight line for establishing the model, and then the SDP algorithm will be used to transform a highly nonlinear positioning optimization problem into a convex optimization problem. Finally, it is concluded through the simulations that the SDP algorithm can obtain better positioning accuracy under a certain Doppler frequency error and ionospheric measurement error.

CryoSat-2 Significant Wave Height in Polar Oceans Derived Using a Semi-Analytical Model of Synthetic Aperture Radar 2011–2019

This paper documents the retrieval of significant ocean surface wave heights in the Arctic Ocean from CryoSat-2 data. We use a semi-analytical model for an idealised synthetic aperture satellite radar or pulse-limited radar altimeter echo power. We develop a processing methodology that specifically considers both the Synthetic Aperture and Pulse Limited modes of the radar that change close to the sea ice edge within the Arctic Ocean. All CryoSat-2 echoes to date were matched by our idealised echo revealing wave heights over the period 2011–2019. Our retrieved data were contrasted to existing processing of CryoSat-2 data and wave model data, showing the improved fidelity and accuracy of the semi-analytical echo power model and the newly developed processing methods. We contrasted our data to in situ wave buoy measurements, showing improved data retrievals in seasonal sea ice covered seas. We have shown the importance of directly considering the correct satellite mode of operation in the Arctic Ocean where SAR is the dominant operating mode. Our new data are of specific use for wave model validation close to the sea ice edge and is available at the link in the data availability statement.

InSight Entry, Descent, and Landing Preflight Performance Predictions

On 26 November 2018, the Interior Exploration Using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight) lander successfully touched down on the surface of Mars. Over its more than seven year development, NASA Langley Research Center’s Program to Optimize Simulated Trajectories II (POST2) was used to assess the mission’s entry, descent, and landing (EDL) vehicle system performance against related requirements across the full range of possible environmental and spacecraft conditions. Due to the high degree of entry body, lander platform, and EDL design heritage, much of the simulation code was derived from the 2007 Mars Phoenix Lander mission. The InSight POST2 six-degree-of-freedom simulation included models for Mars atmosphere, gravity, and digital elevation maps of the landing location. Additionally, vehicle-specific aerodynamic, parachute, engine, navigation sensor, flight software, and landing radar models were included. A set of dispersions for each model, as well as for additional simulation input parameters, was also included in order to provide a statistical, Monte Carlo prediction of the EDL system performance. An overview of the preflight performance assessments completed, including the various simulation campaigns used, will be provided. Ultimately, this work was critical in the assessment of readiness for the InSight launch. A brief description of the use of this simulation in support of flight operations is also discussed.

A Method for Radar Model Identification Using Time-Domain Transient Signals

Radar specific emitter identification (SEI) is the process of uniquely identifying an individual emitter from the same class of radars by their individual properties that arise from hardware imperfections. However, it is challenging or perhaps impossible to generate globally unique emitter identifiers by using SEI techniques alone, due to the increasing number of radars and the subtle differences in their signal properties. We therefore introduce a multitier radar emitter identification concept that includes radar function identification, model identification, and SEI. The combination of function identifiers, model identifiers, and specific emitter identifiers could generate globally unique radar emitter identifiers. In this article, we propose to use the radio frequency (RF) features extracted from time domain transient signals for radar model identification. The RF features include the duration, maximum derivative, skewness, kurtosis, mean, variance, fractal dimension, Shannon entropy, and polynomial coefficients of the normalized energy trajectory of a transient signal, as well as the area under the trajectory curve. We propose three RF fingerprints for radar model identification, each consisting of a predetermined subset of the features. The performance of the RF fingerprints was evaluated by using five classification algorithms with two radar datasets. Our results show attractive performance with respect to hetero-model radar identification. In particular, for the hetero-model radar dataset, the pair of the all-features (AF) fingerprint and gradient boosting algorithm achieved 91.9, 90.25, and 91.1% classification accuracy for three, four, and five emitters, respectively. On this basis, we conclude that the proposed AF fingerprint could be applied directly to radar model identification by training the gradient boosting algorithm using a dataset with many radars per model.

Case Study of a Long-lived Tornadic Mesocyclone in a Low-CAPE Complex-terrain Environment

On 22 May 2008 a long-lived mesocyclone spawned an EF2 tornado over terrain as high as 2650 m MSL in southeastern Wyoming. The mesocyclone was part of an elongated, complex storm system that grew rather early in the day near a slow-moving warm front. The mesocyclone is unusual in that it persisted and became tornadic in rather cold (~7°C), saturated surface conditions in an environment with CAPE < 1000 J kg-1 and no surface-based convective inhibition. The mesocyclone intensified as its parent storm moved over terrain gradually ascending by ~1000 m, reaching a radar-estimated low-level horizontal shear as high as 84 m s-1 km-1. This fast-moving mesocyclone could be tracked by the nearest Doppler radar for over 90 min.
 This paper examines the characteristics and the environment of this mesocyclone using both operational weather data and high-resolution numerical simulations. Near-surface radar observations and model output suggest that the formation and maintenance of the mesocyclone in this low-CAPE environment benefited from two terrain-related factors. One is the observed channeling of the low-level flow, locally enhancing the storm-relative helicity. The second is the presence, suggested by high-resolution simulations, of banners of high potential vorticity generated by the strong southerly flow shearing around the Colorado Front Range.

Skilful precipitation nowcasting using deep generative models of radar

Precipitation nowcasting, the high-resolution forecasting of precipitation up to two hours ahead, supports the real-world socioeconomic needs of many sectors reliant on weather-dependent decision-making1,2. State-of-the-art operational nowcasting methods typically advect precipitation fields with radar-based wind estimates, and struggle to capture important non-linear events such as convective initiations3,4. Recently introduced deep learning methods use radar to directly predict future rain rates, free of physical constraints5,6. While they accurately predict low-intensity rainfall, their operational utility is limited because their lack of constraints produces blurry nowcasts at longer lead times, yielding poor performance on rarer medium-to-heavy rain events. Here we present a deep generative model for the probabilistic nowcasting of precipitation from radar that addresses these challenges. Using statistical, economic and cognitive measures, we show that our method provides improved forecast quality, forecast consistency and forecast value. Our model produces realistic and spatiotemporally consistent predictions over regions up to 1,536 km × 1,280 km and with lead times from 5–90 min ahead. Using a systematic evaluation by more than 50 expert meteorologists, we show that our generative model ranked first for its accuracy and usefulness in 89% of cases against two competitive methods. When verified quantitatively, these nowcasts are skillful without resorting to blurring. We show that generative nowcasting can provide probabilistic predictions that improve forecast value and support operational utility, and at resolutions and lead times where alternative methods struggle.

Height Measurement with Meter Wave Polarimetric MIMO Radar: Signal Model and MUSIC-like Algorithm

Inview of the advantages of polarization diversity and waveform diversity, polarimetric multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) radar, which combines the two advantages, is a subject worthy of in-depth study. Height measurement is one of the key problems to be solved for meter wave radar. Therefore, this paper focuses on height measurement with meter wave polarimetric MIMO radar. First, we derive the height measurement signal model for flat ground reflection combined with the two diversity techniques. Then, we properly classify the signal model and modify it to make it suitable for the classical super-resolution height measurement algorithms, including the generalized multiple signal classification(MUSIC) algorithm and steering vector synthesis (SVS) MUSIC algorithm. The split beam question in SVS-MUSIC is found and the resolution is provided. The proposed algorithms are also extended to long dipoles and large loop MIMO radar. Moreover, the computational complexity of the two algorithms and the derivation of Cramer Rao bound (CRB) for polarimetric MIMO radar are given. These methods do not require decoherence. The innovation of this paper is to provide a height measurement signal model for meter wave polarimetric MIMO radar along with its effective solution. The simulation results prove the accuracy of this approach.

A Cost-Effective Photonic Radar Under Adverse Weather Conditions for Autonomous Vehicles by Incorporating a Frequency-Modulated Direct Detection Scheme

In recent years, there have been plenty of demands and growth in the autonomous vehicle industry, and thus, challenges of designing highly efficient photonic radars that can detect and range any target with the resolution of a few centimeters have been encountered. The existing radar technology is unable to meet such requirements due to limitations on available bandwidth. Another issue is to consider strong attenuation while working under diverse atmospheric conditions at higher frequencies. The proposed model of photonic radar is developed considering these requirements and challenges using the frequency-modulated direct detection technique and considering a free-space range of 750 m. The result depicts improved range detection in terms of received power and an acceptable signal-to-noise ratio and range under adverse climatic situations.

Characteristics of suspended sediment in Sentinel-1 synthetic aperture radar observations

ABSTRACT The main purpose of this study is to quantitatively examine the characteristics of suspended sediment on synthetic aperture radar (SAR) observations of sea roughness. In this work, seven Sentinel-1 (S-1) SAR images in 2019 acquired in the Interferometric Wide-swath (IW) mode at vertical-vertical (VV) polarization channel were collected, where Yangtze River freshwater dominants and suspended sediment concentration (SSC) are higher in continental shelf of East China Sea (ECS). These images were collocated with waves simulated from WAVEWATCH-III (WW3) and SSC inverted from the Haiyang-1C (HY-1C) Coastal Zone Imager (CZI) image. The comparison of WW3-simulated SWH yielded a 0.45-m root-mean-square error (RMSE) with a 0.78 correlation (COR) when comparing the simulations with the measurements from Haiyang-2B (HY-2B). The SAR-measured normalized radar cross-section (NRCS) is linearly related with the HY-1 C SSC at SSC > 1200 mg l–1, which is caused by the change of dielectric constant of sea water and viscosity. Moreover, the NRCS is simulated by the three-scale radar backscattering model. It is generally found that HY-1 C SSC enhances the NRCS in difference between simulations and observations up to 8 dB at SSC of 2000 mg l–1, which could distort the accuracy of SAR wind retrieval.

Research on Jamming to Coherent FA Radar Based on Intermittent Sampling Repeater

Due to integration of the frequency agility (FA) technology and coherent technology, Coherent FA radar has natural advantage in ECCM performance and represents one of important development trends of new radar types. Aiming at the technical characteristics of coherent FA radar, this paper proposed a jamming method to coherent FA radar based on intermittent sampling repeater. Theory models of coherent FA radar and intermittent sampling repeater jamming are established at first and the jamming effect is analyzed. The proposed jamming method is validated to be able to achieve the expected jamming effect to coherent FA radar by simulation at last.

SAR Imaging Distortions Induced by Topography: A Compact Analytical Formulation for Radiometric Calibration

Modeling of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging distortions induced by topography is addressed and a novel radiometric calibration method is proposed in this paper. An analytical formulation of the problem is primarily provided in purely geometrical terms, by adopting the theoretical notions of the differential geometry of surfaces. The novel and conceptually simple formulation relies on a cylindrical coordinate system, whose longitudinal axis corresponds to the sensor flight direction. A 3D representation of the terrain shape is then incorporated into the SAR imaging model by resorting to a suitable parametrization of the observed ground surface. Within this analytical framework, the area-stretching function quantitatively expresses in geometrical terms the inherent local radiometric distortions. This paper establishes its analytical expression in terms of the magnitude of the gradient of the look-angle function uniquely defined in the image domain, thus resulting in being mathematically concise and amenable to a straightforward implementation. The practical relevance of the formulation is also illustrated from a computational perspective, by elucidating its effective discrete implementation. In particular, an inverse cylindrical mapping approach is adopted, thus avoiding the drawback of pixel area fragmentation and integration required in forward-mapping-based approaches. The effectiveness of the proposed SAR radiometric calibration method is experimentally demonstrated by using COSMO-SkyMed SAR data acquired over a mountainous area in Italy.

Assimilation of Polarimetric Radar Data in Simulation of a Supercell Storm with a Variational Approach and the WRF Model

Polarimetric radar data (PRD) have potential to be used in numerical weather prediction (NWP) models to improve convective-scale weather forecasts. However, thus far only a few studies have been undertaken in this research direction. To assimilate PRD in NWP models, a forward operator, also called a PRD simulator, is needed to establish the relation between model physics parameters and polarimetric radar variables. Such a forward operator needs to be accurate enough to make quantitative comparisons between radar observations and model output feasible, and to be computationally efficient so that these observations can be easily incorporated into a data assimilation (DA) scheme. To address this concern, a set of parameterized PRD simulators for the horizontal reflectivity, differential reflectivity, specific differential phase, and cross-correlation coefficient were developed. In this study, we have tested the performance of these new operators in a variational DA system. Firstly, the tangent linear and adjoint (TL/AD) models for these PRD simulators have been developed and checked for the validity. Then, both the forward operator and its adjoint model have been built into the three-dimensional variational (3DVAR) system. Finally, some preliminary DA experiments have been performed with an idealized supercell storm. It is found that the assimilation of PRD, including differential reflectivity and specific differential phase, in addition to radar radial velocity and horizontal reflectivity, can enhance the accuracy of both initial conditions for model hydrometer state variables and ensuing model forecasts. The usefulness of the cross-correlation coefficient is very limited in terms of improving convective-scale data analysis and NWP.

Performance evaluation of a state-of-the-art automotive radar and corresponding modeling approaches based on a large labeled dataset

Radar is a key sensor to achieve a reliable environment perception for advanced driver assistance system and automated driving (ADAS/AD) functions. Reducing the development efforts for ADAS functions and eventually enabling AD functions demands the extension of conventional physical test drives with simulations in virtual test environments. In such a virtual test environment, the physical radar unit is replaced by a virtual radar model. Driving datasets, such as the nuScenes dataset, containing large amounts of annotated sensor measurements, help understand sensor capabilities and play an important role in sensor modeling. This article includes a thorough analysis of the radar data available in the nuScenes dataset. Radar properties, such as detection thresholds, and detection probabilities depending on object, environment, and radar parameters, as well as object properties, such as reflection behavior depending on object type, are investigated quantitatively. The overall detection probability of the considered radar (Continental ARS-408-21) was found to be 27.81%. Four radar models on object level with different complexity levels and different parametrisation requirements are presented: a simple RCS-based radar model with an accuracy of 51%, a linear SVC model with an accuracy of 70%, a Random Forest model with an accuracy of 83%, and a Gradient Boost model with an accuracy of 86%. The feature importance analysis of the machine learning algorithms revealed that object class, object size, and object visibility are the most important parameters for the presented radar models. In contrast, daytime and weather conditions seem to have only minor influence on the modeling results.

Monitoring crop growth using a canopy structure dynamic model and time series of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data

ABSTRACT Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) time series data are used by agricultural agencies for many essential operational crop monitoring programmes. But optical sensors often miss key growth stages due to cloud cover interference, impacting the performance of operational activities. Although the synergistic use of optical and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery can provide time series data, any SAR-optical integration necessitates building a relationship between these two data sources. The objective of this study was to use a semi-empirical Canopy Structure Dynamics Model (CSDM), Growing Degree Days (GDD), and SAR parameters calibrated to optical NDVI to derive daily estimates of canola crop condition over an entire growing season. RADARSAT-2 Fine Quad-pol and RapidEye images were collected over three years for a study site in western Canada. Object-based image analysis was applied to study the relationship between the optical and SAR time series data. Significant correlations were documented between a number of SAR parameters and optical NDVI, specifically a ratio of backscatter intensities (HH-HV)/(HH+HV), a ratio of volume to surface scattering extracted from the Freeman Durden decomposition, and Entropy from the Cloude-Pottier decomposition. Correlations (r-values) between these SAR parameters and optical NDVI ranged from 0.63 to 0.84 for the three years of data. Based on this analysis, a simple statistical model was used to relate SAR parameters to optical NDVI, creating a SAR-calibrated NDVI (SARcal-NDVI). A CSDM was fit to the SARcal-NDVI for each canola field, constructing a temporal vegetation index curve which captured canopy development from emergence to senescence. Coefficients of determination (R2) were 0.87 0.86 and 0.82 for entropy, the volume-surface scattering ratio, and the ratio of backscatter intensities (HH-HV)/(HH+HV), respectively, demonstrating a good model fit. The CSDM describes well the temporal evolution of SARcal-NDVI. Using the CSDM, SARcal-NDVI and GDD, the canola condition can be estimated for any given day in the growing season. In fact when the CSDM was used to estimate SARcal-NDVI for the exact days of RapidEye acquisitions, correlations with optically derived NDVI were high. The strongest correlations with RapidEye NDVI were reported for the volume-surface scattering ratio (R2 of 0.69 and RMSE of 0.15). The SARcal-NDVI estimated from the CSDM was also physically meaningful. Field-based biomass was significantly correlated (R2 of 0.79) with the SARcal-NDVI calculated using the volume-surface scattering ratio. Although further research is needed to extend this method to other crops, these results demonstrate that SAR data can be used to estimate vegetation conditions and when coupled with a CSDM, integrated into current monitoring operations based on optical NDVI. As a next step, the research team will be assessing SARcal-NDVI in a national operational programme which reports on crop yields using modelling with optical-based NDVI.

Tracking the invasive hornet Vespa velutina in complex environments by means of a harmonic radar

An innovative scanning harmonic radar has been recently developed for tracking insects in complex landscapes. This movable technology has been tested on an invasive hornet species (Vespa velutina) for detecting the position of their nests in the environment, in the framework of an early detection strategy. The new model of harmonic radar proved to be effective in tracking hornets either in open landscapes, hilly environments and areas characterised by the presence of more obstacles, such as woodlands and urban areas. Hornets were effectively tracked in complex landscapes for a mean tracking length of 96 ± 62 m with maximum values of ~ 300 m. The effectiveness of locating nests was 75% in new invasive outbreaks and 60% in highly density colonised areas. Furthermore, this technology could provide information on several aspects of insect’s ecology and biology. In this case, new insights were obtained about the mean foraging range of V. velutina (395 ± 208 m with a maximum value of 786 m) and flying features (ground speed), which was 6.66 ± 2.31 m s−1 for foraging individuals (hornets that are not carrying prey’s pellet) and 4.06 ± 1.34 m s−1 for homing individuals.