Guisheng Liao

Multitarget identification and localization using bistatic MIMO radar systems

A scheme for multitarget identification and localization using bistatic MIMO radar systems is proposed. Multitarget can be distinguished by Capon method, as well as the targets angles with respect to transmitter and receiver can be synthesized using the received signals. Thus, the locations of the multiple targets are obtained and spatial synchronization problem in traditional bistatic radars is avoided. The maximum number of targets that can be uniquely identified by proposed method is also analyzed. It is indicated that the product of the numbers of receive and transmit elements minus-one targets can be identified by exploiting the fluctuating of the radar cross section (RCS) of the targets. Cramer-Rao bounds (CRB) are derived to obtain more insights of this scheme. Simulation results demonstrate the performances of the proposed method using Swerling II target model in various scenarios.

Fast communication: Joint DOD and DOA estimation for bistatic MIMO radar

A joint direction of arrivals (DOAs) and direction of departures (DODs) estimation algorithm for bistatic multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) radar via ESPRIT by means of the rotational factor produced by multi-transmitter is presented. The DOAs and DODs of targets can be solved in closed form and paired automatically. Furthermore, the spatial colored noise can be cancelled in the case of three-transmitters configuration by using this method. Simulation results confirm the performance of the algorithm.

Fast communication: a fast algorithm for 2-D direction-of-arrival estimation

A computationally efficient method for two-dimensional direction-of-arrival estimation of multiple narrowband sources impinging on the far field of a planar array is presented. The key idea is to apply the propagator method which only requires linear operations but does not involve any eigendecomposition or singular value decomposition as in common subspace techniques such as MUSIC and ESPRIT. Comparing with a fast ESPRIT-based algorithm, it has a lower computational complexity particularly when the ratio of array size to the number of sources is large, at the expense of negligible performance loss. Simulation results are included to demonstrate the performance of the proposed technique.

Ground Moving Targets Imaging Algorithm for Synthetic Aperture Radar

It is well known that the motion of a target induces range migration, especially for high-resolution synthetic aperture radar (SAR) systems. Ground moving target imaging necessitates the correction of the unknown range migration. To finely refocus a moving target, one must accurately obtain the motion parameters for compensating the target trajectory. However, in practice, these parameters usually cannot be precisely estimated. This paper proposes a new imaging approach for ground moving targets without a priori knowledge of their motion parameters. In the devised method, the azimuth compression function is constructed in range frequency domain, which can eliminate the coupling effect between range and azimuth. Theoretical analysis confirms that the methodology can precisely focus targets without interpolation procedure. The effectiveness of the proposed imaging technique is demonstrated by both simulated and real airborne SAR data.

Performance improvement for constellation SAR using signal processing techniques

A new concept of spaceborne synthetic aperture radar (SAR) implementation has recently been proposed - the constellation of small spaceborne SAR systems. In this implementation, several formation-flying small satellites cooperate to perform multiple space missions. We investigate the possibility to produce high-resolution wide-area SAR images and fine ground moving-target indicator (GMTI) performance with constellation of small spaceborne SAR systems. In particular, we focus on the problems introduced by this particular SAR system, such as Doppler ambiguities, high sparseness of the satellite array, and array element errors. A space-time adaptive processing (STAP) approach combined with conventional SAR imaging algorithms is proposed which can solve these problems to some extent. The main idea of the approach is to use a STAP-based method to properly overcome the aliasing effect caused by the lower pulse-repetition frequency (PRF) and thereby retrieve the unambiguous azimuth wide (full) spectrum signals from the received echoes. Following this operation, conventional SAR data processing tools can be applied to focus the SAR images fully. The proposed approach can simultaneously achieve both high-resolution SAR mapping of wide ground scenes and GMTI with high efficiency. To obtain array element errors, an array auto-calibration technique is proposed to estimate them based on the angular and Doppler ambiguity analysis of the clutter echo. The optimizing of satellite formations is also analyzed, and a platform velocity/PRF criterion for array configurations is presented. An approach is given to make it possible that almost any given sparse array configuration can satisfy the criterion by slightly adjusting the PRF. Simulated results are presented to verify the effectiveness of the proposed approaches.

An Eigenstructure Method for Estimating DOA and Sensor Gain-Phase Errors

In this paper, we consider the problem of direction of arrival (DOA) estimation in the presence of sensor gain-phase errors. Under some mild assumptions, we propose a new DOA estimation method based on the eigendecomposition of a covariance matrix which is constructed by the dot product of the array output vector and its conjugate. By combining the new DOA estimation with the conventional gain-phase error estimation, a method is proposed to simultaneously estimate the DOA and gain-phase errors without joint iteration. Theoretical analysis shows that the proposed method performs independently of phase errors and thus behaves well regardless of phase errors. However, the resolution capability of the proposed method is lower than that of the method in [A. J. Weiss and B. Friedlander, “Eigenstructure methods for direction finding with sensor gain and phase uncertainties,” Circuits Systems Signal Process., vol. 9, no. 3, pp. 271-300, 1990], named as the WF method. In order to improve the resolution capability and maintain phase error independence, a combined strategy is developed using the proposed and WF methods. The advantage of the proposed methods is that they are independent of phase errors, leading to the cancellation of phase error calibration during the operation life of an array. Moreover, the proposed methods avoid the problem of suboptimal convergence which occurs in the WF method. The drawbacks of the proposed methods are their high computational complexity and their requirement for the condition that at least two signals are spatially far from each other, and they are not applicable to a linear array. Simulation results verify the effectiveness of the proposed methods.

Robust recursive least squares learning algorithm for principal component analysis

A learning algorithm for the principal component analysis is developed based on the least-square minimization. The dual learning rate parameters are adjusted adaptively to make the proposed algorithm capable of fast convergence and high accuracy for extracting all principal components. The proposed algorithm is robust to the error accumulation existing in the sequential principal component analysis (PCA) algorithm. We show that all information needed for PCA can be completely represented by the unnormalized weight vector which is updated based only on the corresponding neuron input-output product. The updating of the normalized weight vector can be referred to as a leaky Hebbs rule. The convergence of the proposed algorithm is briefly analyzed. We also establish the relation between Ojas rule and the least squares learning rule. Finally, the simulation results are given to illustrate the effectiveness of this algorithm for PCA and tracking time-varying directions-of-arrival.

Image autocoregistration and InSAR interferogram estimation using joint subspace projection

In this paper, we propose a new method to estimate synthetic aperture radar interferometry (InSAR) interferometric phase in the presence of large coregistration errors. The method takes advantage of the coherence information of neighboring pixel pairs to automatically coregister the SAR images and employs the projection of the joint signal subspace onto the corresponding joint noise subspace to estimate the terrain interferometric phase. The method can automatically coregister the SAR images and reduce the interferometric phase noise simultaneously. Theoretical analysis and computer simulation results show that the method can provide accurate estimate of the terrain interferometric phase (interferogram) as the coregistration error reaches one pixel. The effectiveness of the method is also verified with the real data from the Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C/X Band SAR and the European Remote Sensing 1 and 2 satellites.

A New Method for Radar High-Speed Maneuvering Weak Target Detection and Imaging

Weak-target detection and imaging are the challenging problems of airborne or spaceborne early warning radar. The envelope of a high-speed weak target after range compression spreads over range during the long observation period. To finely refocus a high-speed weak maneuvering target, motion parameters should be accurately obtained for compensating the envelope. This letter proposes a new imaging approach for high-speed maneuvering targets without a priori knowledge of their motion parameters. In this method, the azimuth compression function is constructed in a range and azimuth 2-D frequency domain, which can eliminate the coupling effect between range and azimuth. Theoretical analysis confirms that the methodology can precisely focus targets. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm improves the performance for detecting and imaging high-speed maneuvering targets.

Joint Range and Angle Estimation Using MIMO Radar With Frequency Diverse Array

Phased array is widely used in radar systems with its beam steering fixed in one direction for all ranges. Therefore, the range of a target cannot be determined within a single pulse when range ambiguity exists. In this paper, an unambiguous approach for joint range and angle estimation is devised for multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) radar with frequency diverse array (FDA). Unlike the traditional phased array, FDA is capable of employing a small frequency increment across the array elements. Because of the frequency increment, the transmit steering vector of the FDA-MIMO radar is a function of both range and angle. As a result, the FDA-MIMO radar is able to utilize degrees-of-freedom in the range-angle domains to jointly determine the range and angle parameters of the target. In addition, the Cramér-Rao bounds for range and angle are derived, and the coupling between these two parameters is analyzed. Numerical results are presented to validate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.