Method and apparatus for monitoring vehicle ground movement in the vicinity of an airport

Apparatus for processing radar return video signals for providing signals indicative of potentially hazardous situations in response to operator input commands comprising:

• command means for designating at least one function/runway pair identifying a specific runway reserved for a specific function,
• selecting means for selecting those time slices of said video signals which are identified by a particular function/runway pair designation for processing,
• first means for digitizing and storing representations of said time slices selected by said selecting means,
• processing means for comparing said digitized representations for identifying evidence of a moving object, and
• alarm means responsive to said processing means for manifesting said moving object.

A method of monitoring vehicle ground movements to detect violations of protected roadways comprising the steps of:

• a. sweeping an area encompassing said protected roadways with microwave energy in a cyclical pattern,
• b. deriving a video signal from reflected microwave energy,
• c. selecting predetermined time slices of said video signal corresponding to intersections of a protected roadway with other roadways, in each of a number of said cyclical sweeps,
• d. comparing at least one of said predetermined time slices of said video signal in one sweep with a first simulated signal related to said predetermined time slices in a prior sweep, and
• e. producing an alarm in the event said predetermined time slices of said video signal differs from said simulated signal by more than a predetermined threshold.