Radar tomography apparatus and method

A radar tomography method for determining one or more material properties of an object at a first number of positions distributed within a region of interest of said object, said method comprising:

• transmitting radiation in the direction of the region of interest of the object,
• receiving radiation reflected from or transmitted through the region of interest of the object,
• processing the received radiation by determining electromagnetic field values at a second number of positions distributed in the region of interest from the received radiation, wherein said second number is substantially lower than said first number, and
• determining one or more material properties of the object at the first number of positions in the region of interest from the electromagnetic field values determined at said second number of positions in the region of interest by applying compressive sensing.

A radar tomography apparatus for determining one or more material properties of an object at a first number of positions distributed within a region of interest of said object, said apparatus comprising:

• one or more transmission means for transmitting radiation in the direction of the region of interest of the object,
• a plurality of receiving means for receiving radiation reflected from or transmitted through the region of interest of the object,
• a processing means for processing the received radiation, said processing means including
• a forward solving means for determining electromagnetic field values at a second number of positions distributed in the region of interest from the received radiation, wherein said second number is substantially lower than said first number, and
• an inverse solving means for determining one or more material properties of the object at the first number of positions in the region of interest from the electromagnetic field values determined at said second number of positions in the region of interest by applying compressive sensing.