Millimeter-wave airborne radar for 3-Dimensional imaging of moving and stationary targets
AssigneeThe Government of the United States of America, as represented by the Secretary of the Navy
InventorsRaghu G. Raj, Christopher T. Rodenbeck
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Abstract
Systems and method are provided for three-dimensional (3D) imaging by using Doppler and interferometric processing techniques for general planar phased arrays. Systems and methods according to embodiments of the present disclosure incorporate motion compensation techniques in a way that utilizes the full aperture of a phase array. Embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied to a variety of different radar imaging modalities, including X-band and millimeter wave (MMW) regimes.
Claims20
A millimeter-wave (MMW) radar device, comprising:
- a MMW radar, comprising a plurality of sensors;
- and
- a controller, coupled to the MMW radar, wherein the controller is configured to:
- form a plurality of two-dimensional (2D) images of an object sensed by the plurality of sensors,
- select, based on the plurality of 2D images, a plurality of scatterers,
- estimate, based on the plurality of scatterers, respective scatterer heights for each selected scatterer in the plurality of scatterers,
- calculate multilook phase statistics for each selected scatterer in the plurality of scatterers,
- estimate respective angles for effective rotation vectors of the object for each selected scatterer in the plurality of scatterers based on the multilook phase statistics, and
- generate a three-dimensional (3D) image based on the estimated angles and the estimated scatterer heights.
A millimeter-wave (MMW) radar device, comprising:
- a plurality of sensors;
- and
- a imaging device, coupled to the plurality of sensors, wherein the imaging device is configured to:
- form a plurality of two-dimensional (2D) images of an object sensed by the plurality of sensors,
- select, based on the plurality of 2D images, a plurality of scatterers,
- calculate multilook phase statistics for each selected scatterer in the plurality of scatterers,
- estimate, based on the multilook phase statistics, respective angles for effective rotation vectors of the object for each selected scatterer in the plurality of scatterers,
- estimate, based on the multilook phase statistics, respective scatterer heights for each selected scatterer in the plurality of scatterers, and
- generate a three-dimensional (3D) image based on the estimated angles and scatterer heights.
A method, comprising:
- forming, using a millimeter-wave (MMW) radar device, a plurality of two-dimensional (2D) images of an object sensed by a plurality of sensors of the MMW radar device;
- selecting, using the MMW radar device, a plurality of scatterers based on the plurality of 2D images;
- estimating, using the MMW radar device, respective scatterer heights for each selected scatterer in the plurality of scatterers;
- calculating multilook phase statistics for each selected scatterer in the plurality of scatterers;
- estimating respective angles for effective rotation vectors of the object for each selected scatterer in the plurality of scatterers based on the multilook phase statistics;
- and
- generating, using the MMW radar device, a three-dimensional (3D) image based on the estimated angles and the estimated scatterer heights.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.