Universal Software Only Radar with All Waveforms Simultaneously on a Single Platform

Abstract

While software-defined radars can switch their transmitted waveform on the go, they cannot transmit all waveforms at the same time, meaning they must balance the advantages and drawbacks of each configuration. Here, we propose theoretically and demonstrate experimentally the universal radar, which can apply the desired waveform in the post-processing stage after the physical measurement has been performed. This method also allows using a single measurement of a scene to design and test any other radar in complex scenarios without having to take it to the field. The method is based on post-processing the frequency response measured by a synthetically broadband stepped-frequency continuous wave radar, such as a vector network analyzer. An algorithm for overcoming distortions due to moving targets is derived as well. This approach not only provides an ultra-wideband software-only defined radar, but it also enables the acquired data from any measured site to be used for the design and analysis of almost any other future radar system, significantly cutting the time and cost of new developments. The method suggests the creation of radar raw data repositories that can be shared across diversely different radar platforms.