A Novel Localization System in SAR-Demining Applications Using Invariant Radar Channel Fingerprints

Area of Science:

• Radar Systems Engineering
• Signal Processing
• Robotics and Automation

Background:

• Accurate localization is crucial for handheld systems, especially in applications like demining.
• Existing methods often require complex hardware or multiple sensors.
• Low-cost and efficient localization solutions are highly sought after.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a novel 2D frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) localization method for handheld systems.
• To demonstrate the effectiveness of using subchannel fingerprints for target localization and classification.
• To provide a universally applicable extension for low-cost synthetic aperture radar (SAR) demining.

Main Methods:

• Development of a 2D FMCW localization system utilizing a single subdivided radar source channel.
• Extraction of distinguishable subchannel fingerprints based on low-cost hardware component features.
• Implementation of signal processing steps for mapping 1D measurements to higher-dimensional space coordinates.
• Utilizing a priori information of hardware for space-dependent fingerprint coding.

Main Results:

• Achieved a classification accuracy of 94.7% for frequency-coded fingerprints.
• Demonstrated an averaged localization error of 4.9 mm in a defined test environment.
• Validated the operational reliability of the realized setup for demining applications.

Conclusions:

• The proposed 2D FMCW localization method offers a low-cost and highly accurate solution for handheld systems.
• Subchannel fingerprint extraction provides a robust mechanism for target identification and localization.
• The system presents a significant advancement for low-cost SAR-demining efforts.