2-D Coherence Factor for Sidelobe and Ghost Suppressions in Radar Imaging

The coherence factor (CF) is defined as the ratio of coherent power to incoherent power received by the radar aperture. The incoherent power is computed by the multi-antenna receiver based on only the spatial variable. In this respect, it is a one-dimensional (1-D) CF, and thereby the image sidelobes in down-range cannot be effectively suppressed. We propose a two-dimensional (2-D) CF by supplementing the 1-D CF by an incoherent sum dealing with the frequency dimension. In essence, we employ both spatial diversity and frequency diversity which, respectively, enhance imaging quality in cross range and range. Simulations and experimental results are provided to demonstrate the performance advantages of the proposed approach.Comment: 7 pages, 21 figure

Robust Detection of Moving Human Target in Foliage-Penetration Environment Based on Hough Transform

Attention has been focused on the robust moving human target detection in foliage-penetration environment, which presents a formidable task in a radar system because foliage is a rich scattering environment with complex multipath propagation and time-varying clutter. Generally, multiple-bounce returns and clutter are additionally superposed to direct-scatter echoes. They obscure true target echo and lead to poor visual quality time-range image, making target detection particular difficult. Consequently, an innovative approach is proposed to suppress clutter and mitigate multipath effects. In particular, a clutter suppression technique based on range alignment is firstly applied to suppress the time-varying clutter and the instable antenna coupling. Then entropy weighted coherent integration (EWCI) algorithm is adopted to mitigate the multipath effects. In consequence, the proposed method effectively reduces the clutter and ghosting artifacts considerably. Based on the high visual quality image, the target trajectory is detected robustly and the radial velocity is estimated accurately with the Hough transform (HT). Real data used in the experimental results are provided to verify the proposed method

Performance Evaluation of Aspect Dependent-Based Ghost Suppression Methods for Through-the-Wall Radar Imaging

There are many approaches which address multipath ghost challenges in Through-the-Wall Radar Imaging (TWRI) under Compressive Sensing (CS) framework. One of the approaches, which exploits ghosts’ locations in the images, termed as Aspect Dependent (AD), does not require prior knowledge of the reflecting geometry making it superior over multipath exploitation based approaches. However, which method is superior within the AD based category is still unknown. Therefore, their performance comparison becomes inevitable, and hence this paper presents their performance evaluation in view of target reconstruction. At first, the methods were grouped based on how the subarrays were applied: multiple subarray, hybrid subarray and sparse array. The methods were fairly evaluated on varying noise level, data volume and the number of targets in the scene. Simulation results show that, when applied in a noisy environment, the hybrid subarray-based approaches were robust than the multiple subarray and sparse array. At 15 dB signal-to-noise ratio, the hybrid subarray exhibited signal to clutter ratio of 3.9 dB and 4.5 dB above the multiple subarray and sparse array, respectively. When high data volumes or in the case of multiple targets, multiple subarrays with duo subarrays became the best candidates. Keywords: Aspect dependent; compressive sensing; point target; through-wall-radar imaging

Through-the-wall radar imaging with compressive sensing; theory, practice and future trends-a review

Through-the-Wall Radar Imaging (TWRI) is anemerging technology which enables us to detect behind the wall targets using electromagnetic signals. TWRI has received considerable attention recently due to its diverse applications. This paper presents fundamentals, mathematical foundations and emerging applications of TWRI with special emphasis on Compressive Sensing (CS) and sparse image reconstruction.Multipath propagation stemming from the surrounding walls and nearby targets are among the impinging challenges.Multipath components produce replicas of the genuine target, ghosts, during image reconstruction which may significantly increase the probability of false alarm. The resulting ghost not only creates confusion with genuine targets but may deteriorate the performance of (CS) algorithms as described in this article. The results from a practical scenario show a promising future of the technology which can be adopted in real-life problems including rescue missions and military purposes.AKey words: spect dependence, compressive sensing, multipath ghost, multipath exploitation, through-the-wall-radar imaging

Target-to-Target Interaction in Through-the-Wall Radars under Path Loss Compensated Multipath Exploitation-Based Signal Model for Sparse Image Reconstruction

Multipath caused by reflections from interior walls of buildings has been a long-standing challenge that affects Through-the-Wall Radar Imaging. Multipath creates ghost images that introduce confusion when detecting desired targets. Traditionally, multipath exploitation techniques under the compressive sensing framework have widely been applied to address the challenge. However, the multipath component emanating from target-to-target interactions has not been considered–a consequence that may, under multiple target scenarios, lead to incorrect image interpretation. Besides, far targets experience more attenuation due to free space path-loss, hence resulting into target undetectability. This study proposes a signal model, based on multipath exploitation techniques, by designing a sensing matrix that incorporates multipath returns due to target-to-target interaction and path loss compensation. The study, in addition, proposes the path-loss compensator that, if integrated into the proposed signal model, reduces path loss effects. Simulation results show that the Signal to Clutter Ratio and Relative Clutter Peak improved by 4.9 dB and 1.9 dB, respectively compared to the existing model.Keywords: Compressive sensing, multipath ghost, multipath exploitation, pathloss, path-loss compensator, through-the-wall-radar imaging

Track before mitigate: aspect dependence-based tracking method for multipath mitigation

People tracking is a key building block in many applications such as surveillance, abnormal activity detection and the monitoring of elderly persons or persons with restricted mobility. In this reported work, the problem of multipath signals, which is one of the main challenges in indoor and urban environments, is addressed. The proposed method integrates the aspect dependence feature of multipath signals into the tracking framework which allows making full use of more potentially useful information in the time domain in order to make more accurate decisions and to relax some constraints in the space domain such as the large number of antennas that are placed over a large area. An important feature of the proposed method is that it can suppress/mark the entire multipath track; furthermore, it does not assume any prior knowledge of the environment