Cognitive Approaches to Detection of Small Targets

Humphreys, E.; Antoniou, Michael; Baker, Chris; Stafford, William B.

doi:10.1109/eurad48048.2021.00100

Cited by 5 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 2 publications

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“…Current radar detectors use the amplitude detection, Doppler detection, and other improved detectors, but traditional signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) detectors often result in a missed target due to weak radar signals from the small RCS values of drones [15]. Researchers have developed different methods to suppress background clutter and improve the SNR of targets, such as a constant false alarm rate (CFAR) and modified CFAR Drones 2023, 7, 316 2 of 15 detectors [16][17][18][19]. Additionally, Doppler detectors, including moving target detection (MTD) [20] and track-before-detection (TBD) technology, have been developed for detecting drones [21][22][23][24], although the latter requires a long tracking period and may struggle with sudden drone hovering.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Improved Radar Detection of Small Drones Using Doppler Signal-to-Clutter Ratio (DSCR) Detector

Gong

Yan

Hu³

et al. 2023

Drones

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The detection of drones using radar presents challenges due to their small radar cross-section (RCS) values, slow velocities, and low altitudes. Traditional signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) detectors often fail to detect weak radar signals from small drones, resulting in high “Missed Target” rates due to the dependence of SNR values on RCS and detection range. To overcome this issue, we propose the use of a Doppler signal-to-clutter ratio (DSCR) detector that can extract both amplitude and Doppler information from drone signals. Theoretical calculations suggest that the DSCR of a target is less dependent on the detection range than the SNR. Experimental results using a Ku-band pulsed-Doppler surface surveillance radar and an X-band marine surveillance radar demonstrate that the DSCR detector can effectively extract radar signals from small drones, even when the signals are similar to clutter levels. Compared to the SNR detector, the DSCR detector reduces missed target rates by utilizing a lower detection threshold. Our tests include quad-rotor, fixed-wing, and hybrid vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) drones, with mean SNR values comparable to the surrounding clutter but with DSCR values above 10 dB, significantly higher than the clutter. The simplicity and low radar requirements of the DSCR detector make it a promising solution for drone detection in radar engineering applications.

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