Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) has been applied for several years to the problem of detecting both antipersonnel
and anti-tank landmines. RDECOM CERDEC NVESD is developing an airborne wideband
GPR sensor for the detection of minefields including surface and buried mines. In this paper, we describe
the as-built system, data and image processing techniques to generate imagery, and current issues with
this type of radar. Further, we will display images from a recent field test.
KEYWORDS: Synthetic aperture radar, Land mines, Sensors, Radar, General packet radio service, Global Positioning System, Unmanned aerial vehicles, Image processing, Antennas, Data processing
This paper describes data collection and test results from an airborne ground penetrating radar (GPR) sensor operating as a synthetic aperture radar (SAR). Tests were undertaken to investigate the sensor's capability to support wide-area airborne minefield detection. The sensor was installed on a rotorcraft unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). Flight tests occurred in 2002/3 at several US Army test sites containing minefields comprised of diverse types of anti-tank landmines, both metallic and low-metallic, that were buried and surface-laid. Data was collected using two side-look SAR modes: strip-map and spotlight. Strip-map mode data was collected using linear flight paths. Spotlight mode data was collected over a path surrounding the survey region allowing the sensor to collect minefield data over a full 360° view in azimuth. Data collected in strip-map mode was processed to form two-dimensional SAR imagery of the minefields. Three dimensional images were generated by processing the 360° spotlight mode data. The images were generated in a geo-referenced coordinate system to allow direct comparison of the imagery with surveyed ground truth. The sensor system is described and the flight tests that were undertaken are explained. Examples of SAR imagery from the flight tests are presented and compared to surveyed ground truth.
We have coded a tomographic-style algorithm that is capable of imaging radar data obtained on a circular flight path about a 3D target zone. Our imaging algorithm is designed to image field data collected with Mireage's new Subsurface Imaging Synthetic Aperture Radar (SISAR), a ground-penetrating device operating in the spotlight mode. The SISAR algorithm operates on radar data gathered in (or converted to) the range-azimuth domain--the so-called sinogram plane. On the sinogram plane, the impulse response of a point scatterer is sinewave- shaped curve. The amplitude of the sinewave is related to the target's radial coordinate, its phase to the target's azimuthal coordinate, and its bias to the target's burial depth. When flown on a circular path about a 3D target zone, SISAR generates 3D-style sinograms. Our imaging algorithm produces 3D maps of the target zone by converting each sinewave trace on the sinogram plane to a delta function in three-space. The code is fast (in the FFT sense). Moreover, it avoids the laborious, and often inaccurate conversion of the collected radar data from cylindrical coordinates to rectangular ones, as in conventional radar imaging.
Conference Committee Involvement (10)
Radar Sensor Technology XXII
16 April 2018 | Orlando, FL, United States
Radar Sensor Technology XXI
10 April 2017 | Anaheim, CA, United States
Radar Sensor Technology XX
18 April 2016 | Baltimore, MD, United States
Radar Sensor Technology XIX
20 April 2015 | Baltimore, MD, United States
Radar Sensor Technology XVIII
5 May 2014 | Baltimore, MD, United States
Radar Sensor Technology XVII
29 April 2013 | Baltimore, Maryland, United States
Radar Sensor Technology XVI
23 April 2012 | Baltimore, Maryland, United States
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