Spaceborne Polarimetric SAR Interferometry: Performance Analysis and Mission Concepts

Spaceborne polarimetric SAR interferometry enables quantitative measurements of important bio- and geophysical parameters of the Earth surface on a global scale. We will first give a short review about actual and planned spaceborne SAR missions that can provide the observation space required for the derivation of Pol-InSAR products. This overview includes both repeat pass mission scenarios like ALOS/PalSAR, TerraSAR-L and Radarsat II, as well as single-pass mission scenarios like a fully-polarimetric Interferometric Cartwheel or TanDEM- X. The Pol-InSAR performance of the suggested mission scenarios will then be analysed by introducing the new concept of a phase tube. This concept enables an optimization of the system parameters and a quantitative comparison between different sensor configurations. The performance analysis for the investigated repeat pass mission scenarios reveals that major limitations have to be expected from temporal decorrelation. Some suggestions will be made to alleviate this performance loss by appropriate orbit refinement. Furthermore, important aspects in the design of future Pol-InSAR sensors will be addressed and we demonstrate the potential benefits arising from the use of bi- and multistatic single pass sensor configurations

Joint detection and localization of vessels at sea with a GNSS-Based multistatic radar

This paper addresses the exploitation of global navigation satellite systems as opportunistic sources for the joint detection and localization of vessels at sea in a passive multistatic radar system. A single receiver mounted on a proper platform (e.g., a moored buoy) can collect the signals emitted by multiple navigation satellites and reflected from ship targets of interest. This paper puts forward a single-stage approach to jointly detect and localize the ship targets by making use of long integration times (tens of seconds) and properly exploiting the spatial diversity offered by such a configuration. A proper strategy is defined to form a long-time and multistatic range and Doppler (RD) map, where the total target power can be reinforced with respect to, in turn, the case in which the RD map is obtained over a short dwell and the case in which a single transmitter is employed. The exploitation of both the long integration time and the multiple transmitters can greatly enhance the performance of the system, allowing counteracting the low-power budget provided by the considered sources representing the main bottleneck of this technology. Moreover, the proposed single-stage approach can reach superior detection performance than a conventional two-stage process where peripheral decisions are taken at each bistatic link and subsequently the localization is achieved by multilateration methods. Theoretical and simulated performance analysis is proposed and also validated by means of experimental results considering Galileo transmitters and different types of targets of opportunity in different scenarios. Obtained results prove the effectiveness of the proposed method to provide detection and localization of ship targets of interest

Global Navigation Satellite Systems disciplined oscillator synchronisation of multistatic radar

A fundamental challenge in the practical implementation of multistatic radar systems (MSRS) is the requirement for precise time and frequency synchronisation between the spatially separated radar nodes. The authors evaluate the performance of different classes of commercially available Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) timing receivers, Local Oscillators (LO) and GNSS Disciplined Oscillators (GNSSDOs) to determine the limitations of using one‐way GNSS Time and Frequency Transfer (TFT) in this application. From evaluating the performance of three pairs of GNSSDOs, it is concluded that one‐way GNSS TFT will likely be suitable only for the synchronisation of fully spatially coherent MSRS with carrier frequencies up to 100 MHz and waveform bandwidths up to 20 MHz. Whereas, in the case of short‐term spatially coherent MSRS, synchronisation of systems with carrier frequencies up to a few GHz and waveform bandwidths of over 100 MHz will likely be possible. The performance of the different classes of GNSSDOs during GNSS denial (holdover) are evaluated, where it is concluded that frequency offsets between LOs at the point of GNSS denial will often significantly contribute, or even dominate, the holdover performance. Analysis of two practical multistatic radar measurements verifies the function of using the GNSSDOs for wireless synchronisation of the ARESTOR MSRS

OFDM based WiFi Passive Sensing: a reference-free non-coherent approach

WiFi based passive sensing is attracting considerable interest in the scientific community for both research and commercial purposes. In this work, we aim at taking a step forward in an endeavor to achieve good sensing capabilities employing compact, low-cost, and stand-alone WiFi sensors. To this end, we resort to a reference-free non-coherent signal processing scheme, where the presence of a moving target echo is sought by detecting the amplitude modulation that it produces on the direct signal transmitted from the WiFi access point. We first validate the proposed strategy against simulated data, identifying advantages and limitations. Then, we apply the conceived solution on experimental data collected in a small outdoor area with the purpose of detecting a small cooperative drone

Sea target detection using spaceborne GNSS-R delay-doppler maps: theory and experimental proof of concept using TDS-1 data

© 2017 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works.This study addresses a novel application of global navigation satellite system-reflectometry (GNSS-R) delay-Doppler maps (DDMs), namely sea target detection. In contrast with other competing remote sensing technologies, such as synthetic aperture radar and optical systems, typically exploited in the field of sea target detection, GNSS-R systems could be employed as satellite constellations, so as to fulfill the temporal requirements for near real-time ships and sea ice sheets monitoring. In this study, the revisit time offered by GNSS-R systems is quantitatively evaluated by means of a simulation analysis, in which three different realistic GNSS-R missions are simulated and analyzed. Then, a sea target detection algorithm from spaceborne GNSS-R DDMs is described and assessed. The algorithm is based on a sea clutter compensation step and uses an adaptive threshold to take into account spatial variations in the sea background and/or noise statistics. Finally, the sea target detector algorithm is tested and validated for the first time ever using experimental GNSS-R data from the U.K. TechDemoSat-1 dataset. Performance is assessed by providing the receiver operating characteristic curves, and some preliminary experimental results are presented.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Improvement of detection and tracking techniques in multistatic passive radar systems. (Mejora de técnicas de detección y seguimiento en sistemas radar pasivos multiestáticos)

Esta tesis doctoral es el resultado de una intensa actividad investigadora centrada en los sensores radar pasivos para la mejora de las capacidades de detección y seguimiento en escenarios complejos con blancos terrestres y pequeños drones. El trabajo de investigación se ha llevado a cabo en el grupo de investigación coordinado por la Dra. María Pilar Jarabo Amores, dentro del marco diferentes proyectos: IDEPAR (“Improved DEtection techniques for PAssive Radars”), MASTERSAT (“MultichAnnel paSsive radar receiver exploiting TERrestrial and SATellite Illuminators”) y KRIPTON (“A Knowledge based appRoach to passIve radar detection using wideband sPace adapTive prOcessiNg”) financiados por el Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad de España; MAPIS (Multichannel passive ISAR imaging for military applications) y JAMPAR (“JAMmer-based PAssive Radar”), financiados por la Agencia Europea de Defensa (EDA) . El objetivo principal es la mejora de las técnicas de detección y seguimiento en radares pasivos con configuraciones biestáticas y multiestaticas. En el documento se desarrollan algoritmos para el aprovechamiento de señales procedentes de distintos iluminadores de oportunidad (transmisores DVB-T, satélites DVB-S y señales GPS). Las soluciones propuestas han sido integradas en el demostrador tecnológico IDEPAR, desarrollado y actualizado bajo los proyectos mencionados, y validadas en escenarios reales declarados de interés por potenciales usuarios finales (Direccion general de armamento y material, instituto nacional de tecnología aeroespacial y la armada española). Para el desarrollo y evaluación de cadenas de las cadenas de procesado, se plantean dos casos de estudio: blancos terrestres en escenarios semiurbanos edificios y pequeños blancos aéreos en escenarios rurales y costeros. Las principales contribuciones se pueden resumir en los siguientes puntos: • Diseño de técnicas de seguimiento 2D en el espacio de trabajo rango biestático-frecuencia Doppler: se desarrollan técnicas de seguimiento para los dos casos de estudio, localización de blancos terrestres y pequeños drones. Para es último se implementan técnicas capaces de seguir tanto el movimiento del dron como su firma Doppler, lo que permite implementar técnicas de clasificación de blancos. • Diseño de técnicas de seguimiento de blancos capaces de integrar información en el espacio 3D (rango, Doppler y acimut): se diseñan técnicas basadas en procesado en dos etapas, una primera con seguimiento en 2D para el filtrado de falsas alarmas y la segunda para el seguimiento en 3D y la conversión de coordenadas a un plano local cartesiano. Se comparan soluciones basadas en filtros de Kalman para sistemas tanto lineales como no lineales. • Diseño de cadenas de procesado para sistemas multiestáticos: la información estimada del blanco sobre múltiples geometrías biestáticas es utilizada para incremento de las capacidades de localización del blanco en el plano cartesiano local. Se presentan soluciones basadas en filtros de Kalman para sistemas no lineales explotando diferentes medidas biestáticas en el proceso de transformación de coordenadas, analizando las mejoras de precisión en la localización del blanco. • Diseño de etapas de procesado para radares pasivos basados en señales satelitales de las constelaciones GPS DVB-S. Se estudian las características de las señales satelitales identificando sus inconvenientes y proponiendo cadenas de procesado que permitan su utilización para la detección y seguimiento de blancos terrestres. • Estudio del uso de señales DVB-T multicanal con gaps de transmisión entre los diferentes canales en sistemas radares pasivos. Con ello se incrementa la resolución del sistema, y las capacidades de detección, seguimiento y localización. Se estudia el modelo de señal multicanal, sus efectos sobre el procesado coherente y se proponen cadenas de procesado para paliar los efectos adversos de este tipo de señales

Remote Sensing in Land Applications by Using GNSS-Reflectometry

Global navigation satellite system-reflectometry (GNSS-R) as an efficient tool for remote sensing has gained increasing interests in the last two decades, due to its unique characteristics. It uses GNSS signals as sources of opportunity, providing precise, continuous, all-weather, and 24 hours’ detections, which play a key role in many land applications. The fundamental theoretical part of GNSS-R technique is examined at first. Then, GNSS-R methodologies applied in the soil moisture content, vegetation biomass sensing, and altimetry applications are also detailed. One retrieval method uses only RH (right-hand) reflected data. Another retrieval method for soil moisture content (SMC) aimed to calibrate the measurement by using water reflections, based on the bistatic equations with LH (left-hand) reflected and RH direct signals. The other method for SMC retrieval is related to the polarimetric ratio (PR), the ratio of LH/RH reflected signals can reveal the fluctuations of the SMC. Another vital parameter vegetation biomass was observed by using the variation of reflectivity of the LH and RH reflected components. Finally, the C/A code method was used for exploring the possibility to the altimetry estimation. The features of GNSS-R technique made it a promising remote sensing technique in hydrology, climatology carbon cycles, and other potential applications