The ASI Integrated Sounder-SAR System Operating in the UHF-VHF Bands: First Results of the 2018 Helicopter-Borne Morocco Desert Campaign

Perna, Stefano; Alberti, Giovanni; Berardino, P.; Bruzzone, Lorenzo; Califano, D.; Catapano, Ilaria; Ciofaniello, L.; Donini, Elena; Esposito, Carmen; Facchinetti, Claudia; Formaro, Roberto; Gennarelli, Gianluca; Gerekos, Christopher; Lanari, R.; Longo, F.; Ludeno, Giovanni; d’Alessandro, Mauro Mariotti; Natale, Antonio; Noviello, Carlo; Palmese, G.; Papa, C.; Pica, G.; Rocca, F.; Salzillo, Giuseppe; Soldovieri, Francesco; Tebaldini, Stefano; Thakur, Sanchari

doi:10.3390/rs11161845

Cited by 16 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 72 publications

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“…In this appendix we derive condition in Equation (7). To this aim, let us consider an FSR estimate, sayα = α + ∆α, leading to the range sampling stepδR.…”

Section: Appendix Amentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the last years, an increasing interest toward Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) systems [1] mounted onboard aerial platforms, such as airplanes [2][3][4][5][6], helicopters [7], unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) [8,9] and drones [10,11], is registered [12]. This is mainly due to the high operative flexibility and relatively low operative costs of these platforms.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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On the Frequency Sweep Rate Estimation in Airborne FMCW SAR Systems

et al. 2020

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Use of Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) systems requires to accurately know the electronic parameters of the system. In particular, the use of an incorrect value of the Frequency Sweep Rate (FSR) introduces geometric distortions in the focused images. Recently, a method, that we name FSR Estimate Through Corner reflectors (FSRETC), has been proposed to estimate the FSR value actually employed by the radar. The method is based on the use of the SAR image focused with the available erroneous FSR. Moreover, it exploits a number of Corner Reflectors (CRs) deployed over the illuminated area. In this work, we provide an assessment of the capabilities of the FSRETC algorithm. The overall analysis is performed through the use of a real dataset consisting of 10 acquisitions carried out in 2018 (5 acquisitions) and 2019 (5 acquisitions) with an airborne FMCW SAR system. The presented experimental analysis shows that even with a single acquisition, use of two CRs sufficiently far from each other in the range direction, allows achieving an accurate estimate of the searched FSR. Moreover, it is shown that the obtained estimate is very stable over the time. Therefore, the overall procedure can be applied only once, since the estimated values can be safely used for the subsequent missions, at least for the time interval considered in the work, that is, 14 months. In addition, the presented results pose the basis for an enhanced measurement strategy that allows effective application of the FSRETC algorithm through the use of only one CR.

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“…In this appendix we derive condition in Equation (7). To this aim, let us consider an FSR estimate, sayα = α + ∆α, leading to the range sampling stepδR.…”

Section: Appendix Amentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the Frequency Sweep Rate Estimation in Airborne FMCW SAR Systems

et al. 2020

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“…In addition, the weight of the equipment is considered as a problem. According to [ 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 ], some projects utilize professional radar sensors. In addition to these, there are several projects aiming at developing low-cost radar sensors usable for a variety of applications [ 28 , 29 , 30 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Automotive Radar in a UAV to Assess Earth Surface Processes and Land Responses

Weber

Eichel-Streiber

Rodrigo‐Comino

et al. 2020

Sensors

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The use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in earth science research has drastically increased during the last decade. The reason being innumerable advantages to detecting and monitoring various environmental processes before and after certain events such as rain, wind, flood, etc. or to assess the current status of specific landforms such as gullies, rills, or ravines. The UAV equipped sensors are a key part to success. Besides commonly used sensors such as cameras, radar sensors are another possibility. They are less known for this application, but already well established in research. A vast number of research projects use professional radars, but they are expensive and difficult to handle. Therefore, the use of low-cost radar sensors is becoming more relevant. In this article, to make the usage of radar simpler and more efficient, we developed with automotive radar technology. We introduce basic radar techniques and present two radar sensors with their specifications. To record the radar data, we developed a system with an integrated camera and sensors. The weight of the whole system is about 315 g for the small radar and 450 g for the large one. The whole system was integrated into a UAV and test flights were performed. After that, several flights were carried out, to verify the system with both radar sensors. Thereby, the records provide an insight into the radar data. We demonstrated that the recording system works and the radar sensors are suitable for the usage in a UAV and future earth science research because of its autonomy, precision, and lightweight.

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“…The papers belonging to the first group [1][2][3][4][5][6] provide the description of the capabilities of newborn imaging radar systems designed to operate in challenging scenarios [1] or using smart and flexible aerial platforms, such as small airplanes [2], drones [3][4][5] or helicopters [6]. Overall, these contributions provide an interesting survey of the potential of lightweight and compact imaging radar sensors.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The contributions belonging to the second group [7][8][9][10] are focused on the description of novel data processing techniques aimed at achieving accurate radar imaging under complex acquisition geometries, such as in the case of airborne Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) [6][7][8], or in challenging scenarios, as in the case of Forward-Looking Ground-Penetrating Radar (FL-GPR) [9] or Lunar Penetrating Radar (LPR) [10].…”

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confidence: 99%

Editorial for Special Issue “Radar Imaging in Challenging Scenarios from Smart and Flexible Platforms”

2020

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Microwave radar imaging plays a key role in several civilian and defense applications, such as security, surveillance, diagnostics and monitoring in civil engineering and cultural heritage, environment observation, with particular emphasis on disasters and crisis management, where it is required to remotely sense the area of interest in a timely, safe and effective way. To address these constraints, a technological opportunity is offered by radar systems mounted onboard smart and flexible platforms, such as ground-based ones, airplanes, helicopters, drones, unmanned aerial and ground vehicles (UAV and UGV). For this reason, radar imaging based on data collected by such platforms is gaining interest in the remote sensing community. However, a full exploitation of smart and flexible radar systems requires the development and use of image formation techniques and reconstruction approaches able to exploit and properly deal with non-conventional data acquisition configurations. The other main issue is related to the need to operate in challenging environments, and still deliver high target detection, localization and tracking. These environments include through the wall imaging, rugged terrain and rough surface/subsurface. In these cases, one seeks mitigation of the adverse effects of clutter and multipath via the implementation of effective signal processing strategies and electromagnetic modeling.

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The ASI Integrated Sounder-SAR System Operating in the UHF-VHF Bands: First Results of the 2018 Helicopter-Borne Morocco Desert Campaign

Cited by 16 publications

References 72 publications

On the Frequency Sweep Rate Estimation in Airborne FMCW SAR Systems

On the Frequency Sweep Rate Estimation in Airborne FMCW SAR Systems

Automotive Radar in a UAV to Assess Earth Surface Processes and Land Responses

Editorial for Special Issue “Radar Imaging in Challenging Scenarios from Smart and Flexible Platforms”

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