Joint transmitter selection and resource management strategy based on low probability of intercept optimization for distributed radar networks

In this paper, a joint transmitter selection and resource management (JTSRM) strategy based on low probability of intercept (LPI) is proposed for target tracking in distributed radar network system. The basis of the JTSRM strategy is to utilize the optimization technique to control transmitting resources of radar networks in order to improve the LPI performance, while guaranteeing a specified target tracking accuracy. The weighted intercept probability and transmit power of radar networks is defined and subsequently employed as the optimization criterion for the JTSRM strategy. The resulting optimization problem is to minimize the LPI performance criterion of radar networks by optimizing the revisit interval, dwell time, transmitter selection, and transmit power subject to a desired target tracking performance and some resource constraints. An efficient and fast three‐step solution technique is also developed to solve this problem. The presented mechanism implements the optimal working parameters based on the feedback information in the tracking recursion cycle in order to improve the LPI performance for radar networks. Numerical simulations are provided to verify the superior performance of the proposed JTSRM strategy

Novel Power Control Scheme for Target Tracking in Radar Network with Passive Cooperation

Distributed radar network systems (DRNS) have been shown to provide significant performance improvement. With the recent development, radar network has become an attractive platform for target tracking. In practice, the netted radars in DRNS are supposed to maximize their transmitting power to achieve better target tracking performance, which may be in contradiction with low probability of intercept (LPI). This paper investigates the problem of adaptive resource scheduling based on time difference of arrival (TDOA) cooperation for target tracking by DRNS consisting of a dedicated radar netting station and multiple netted radars. Firstly, the standard interacting multiple model (IMM) algorithm incorporating extended Kalman filter (EKF) is improved by modifying the Markov transition probability with current measurements. Then, a novel resource scheduling strategy based on TDOA cooperation is presented, in which the LPI perfor¬mance for target tracking in DRNS is improved by optimiz¬ing the radar revisit interval and the transmitted power for a predefined target tracking accuracy. The comparison of the predictive error covariance matrix and the expected error covariance matrix is utilized to control the radar netting station under intermittent-working state with TDOA cooperation. Due to the lack of analytical closed-form expression for receiver operating characteristics (ROC), we utilize several popular information-theoretic criteria, namely, Bhattacharyya distance, Kullback-Leibler (KL) divergence, J-divergence, and mutual information (MI) as the metrics for target detection performance in target tracking process. The resulting optimization problems which are associated with different information-theoretic criteria are unified under a common framework. The non¬linear programming (NP) based genetic algorithm (GA) or else known as NPGA is employed to encounter with the highly nonconvex and nonlinear optimization problems in the framework. Numerical results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm not only has excellent target tracking accuracy, but also has better LPI performance comparing to other methods

Joint Radar and Communication Design: Applications, State-of-the-Art, and the Road Ahead

Sharing of the frequency bands between radar and communication systems has attracted substantial attention, as it can avoid under-utilization of otherwise permanently allocated spectral resources, thus improving efficiency. Further, there is increasing demand for radar and communication systems that share the hardware platform as well as the frequency band, as this not only decongests the spectrum, but also benefits both sensing and signaling operations via the full cooperation between both functionalities. Nevertheless, the success of spectrum and hardware sharing between radar and communication systems critically depends on high-quality joint radar and communication designs. In the first part of this paper, we overview the research progress in the areas of radar-communication coexistence and dual-functional radar-communication (DFRC) systems, with particular emphasis on application scenarios and technical approaches. In the second part, we propose a novel transceiver architecture and frame structure for a DFRC base station (BS) operating in the millimeter wave (mmWave) band, using the hybrid analog-digital (HAD) beamforming technique. We assume that the BS is serving a multi-antenna user equipment (UE) over a mmWave channel, and at the same time it actively detects targets. The targets also play the role of scatterers for the communication signal. In that framework, we propose a novel scheme for joint target search and communication channel estimation, which relies on omni-directional pilot signals generated by the HAD structure. Given a fully-digital communication precoder and a desired radar transmit beampattern, we propose to design the analog and digital precoders under non-convex constant-modulus (CM) and power constraints, such that the BS can formulate narrow beams towards all the targets, while pre-equalizing the impact of the communication channel. Furthermore, we design a HAD receiver that can simultaneously process signals from the UE and echo waves from the targets. By tracking the angular variation of the targets, we show that it is possible to recover the target echoes and mitigate the resulting interference to the UE signals, even when the radar and communication signals share the same signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). The feasibility and efficiency of the proposed approaches in realizing DFRC are verified via numerical simulations. Finally, the paper concludes with an overview of the open problems in the research field of communication and radar spectrum sharing (CRSS)

Adaptive MIMO Radar for Target Detection, Estimation, and Tracking

We develop and analyze signal processing algorithms to detect, estimate, and track targets using multiple-input multiple-output: MIMO) radar systems. MIMO radar systems have attracted much attention in the recent past due to the additional degrees of freedom they offer. They are commonly used in two different antenna configurations: widely-separated: distributed) and colocated. Distributed MIMO radar exploits spatial diversity by utilizing multiple uncorrelated looks at the target. Colocated MIMO radar systems offer performance improvement by exploiting waveform diversity. Each antenna has the freedom to transmit a waveform that is different from the waveforms of the other transmitters. First, we propose a radar system that combines the advantages of distributed MIMO radar and fully polarimetric radar. We develop the signal model for this system and analyze the performance of the optimal Neyman-Pearson detector by obtaining approximate expressions for the probabilities of detection and false alarm. Using these expressions, we adaptively design the transmit waveform polarizations that optimize the target detection performance. Conventional radar design approaches do not consider the goal of the target itself, which always tries to reduce its detectability. We propose to incorporate this knowledge about the goal of the target while solving the polarimetric MIMO radar design problem by formulating it as a game between the target and the radar design engineer. Unlike conventional methods, this game-theoretic design does not require target parameter estimation from large amounts of training data. Our approach is generic and can be applied to other radar design problems also. Next, we propose a distributed MIMO radar system that employs monopulse processing, and develop an algorithm for tracking a moving target using this system. We electronically generate two beams at each receiver and use them for computing the local estimates. Later, we efficiently combine the information present in these local estimates, using the instantaneous signal energies at each receiver to keep track of the target. Finally, we develop multiple-target estimation algorithms for both distributed and colocated MIMO radar by exploiting the inherent sparsity on the delay-Doppler plane. We propose a new performance metric that naturally fits into this multiple target scenario and develop an adaptive optimal energy allocation mechanism. We employ compressive sensing to perform accurate estimation from far fewer samples than the Nyquist rate. For colocated MIMO radar, we transmit frequency-hopping codes to exploit the frequency diversity. We derive an analytical expression for the block coherence measure of the dictionary matrix and design an optimal code matrix using this expression. Additionally, we also transmit ultra wideband noise waveforms that improve the system resolution and provide a low probability of intercept: LPI)

Wireless communication, sensing, and REM: A security perspective

The diverse requirements of next-generation communication systems necessitate awareness, flexibility, and intelligence as essential building blocks of future wireless networks. The awareness can be obtained from the radio signals in the environment using wireless sensing and radio environment mapping (REM) methods. This is, however, accompanied by threats such as eavesdropping, manipulation, and disruption posed by malicious attackers. To this end, this work analyzes the wireless sensing and radio environment awareness mechanisms, highlighting their vulnerabilities and provides solutions for mitigating them. As an example, the different threats to REM and its consequences in a vehicular communication scenario are described. Furthermore, the use of REM for securing communications is discussed and future directions regarding sensing/REM security are highlighted

Joint Collaborative Radar Selection and Transmit Resource Allocation in Multiple Distributed Radar Networks with Imperfect Detection Performance

In this study, a collaborative radar selection and transmit resource allocation strategy is proposed for multitarget tracking applications in multiple distributed phased array radar networks with imperfect detection performance. The closed-form expression for the Bayesian Cramér-Rao Lower Bound (BCRLB) with imperfect detection performance is obtained and adopted as the criterion function to characterize the precision of target state estimates. The key concept of the developed strategy is to collaboratively adjust the radar node selection, transmitted power, and effective bandwidth allocation of multiple distributed phased array radar networks to minimize the total transmit power consumption in an imperfect detection environment. This will be achieved under the constraints of the predetermined tracking accuracy requirements of multiple targets and several illumination resource budgets to improve its radio frequency stealth performance. The results revealed that the formulated problem is a mixed-integer programming, nonlinear, and nonconvex optimization model. By incorporating the barrier function approach and cyclic minimization technique, an efficient four-step-based solution methodology is proposed to solve the resulting optimization problem. The numerical simulation examples demonstrate that the proposed strategy can effectively reduce the total power consumption of multiple distributed phased array radar networks by at least 32.3% and improve its radio frequency stealth performance while meeting the given multitarget tracking accuracy requirements compared with other existing algorithms