A novel 3-D subsurface radar imaging technique

The problem of the formation of subsurface images using stand-off forward looking radar is by far more severe than that of forming the radar images in the free-space. A subsurface image needs to be accurately focused taking into account both the refraction and dispersion of the wavefield. This paper presents a novel imaging algorithm specially tailored for subsurface sensing. A simple and effective characterization technique for the retrieval of the dielectric permittivity is outlined. The proposed soil characterization and subsurface imaging techniques are validated experimentally. Results show that the geometric distortion in the subsurface images due to the refraction and dispersion of the wavefields is successfully corrected     

Advanced subsurface radar system for imaging buried pipes

A subsurface radar system for imaging buried pipes was developed. The system is capable of reconstructing clear pipe images under unfavorable conditions, such as large attenuation rate of the radio waves propagating in soil. The output power of a pulse generator, the amplifier gain, and average number are controlled by moving the observation depth to improve the detection capability. Fast image processing methods are also used. A 6.5-cm-diameter steel pipe, buried at a depth of 2.5 m, was clearly reconstructed as a color image averaged attenuation rate of 12.6 dB/m in the soil. A plastic pipe (6.5 cm in diameter), buried at a depth of 1 m, was also imaged by the system     

Microwave imaging of subsurface cylindrical scatters from crosspolar backscatter

A technique based on polarisation discrimination is shown to produce microwave images of suitably depolarising subsurface targets which are superior to copolar images by virtue of rejecting the rough-surface return.     

A quality controllable multi-view object reconstruction method for 3D imaging systems

This paper addresses a novel multi-view visual hull mesh reconstruction for 3D imaging with a system quality control capability. There are numerous 3D imaging methods including multi-view stereo algorithms and various visual hull/octree reconstruction methods known as modeling from silhouettes. The octree based reconstruction methods are conceptually simple to implement, while encountering a conflict between model accuracy and memory size. Since the tree depth is discrete, the system performance measures (in terms of accuracy, memory size, and computation time) are generally varying rapidly with the pre-specified tree depth. This jumping system performance is not suitable for practical applications; a desirable 3D reconstruction method must have a finer control over the system performance. The proposed method aims at the visual quality control along with better management of memory size and computation time. Furthermore, dynamic object modeling is made possible by the new method. Also, progressive transmission of the reconstructed model from coarse to fine is provided. The reconstruction accuracy of the 3D model acquired is measured by the exclusive OR (XOR) projection error between the pairs of binary images: the reconstructed silhouettes and the true silhouettes in the multiple views. Interesting properties of the new method and experimental comparisons with other existing methods are reported. The performance comparisons are made under either a comparable silhouette inconsistency or a similar triangle number of the mesh model. It is shown that under either condition the new method requires less memory size and less computation time.     

Efficient 3D imaging method of MIMO radar for moving target

When compressive sensing (CS) was used to achieve sparse imaging of moving targets,the Doppler frequency caused by motion will increase the processing dimension,change the center frequency of echo and worsen the mutual coherence property of measurement matrix.In order to improve the three-dimensional (3D) imaging performance of MIMO radar for moving targets,an efficient method was proposed.In each dimension,the distribution information of targets was searched respectively and a new low-dimensional measurement matrix was reconstructed accordingly,so the targets’ area was narrowed down.At the same time,in order to optimize the mutual coherence property of measurement matrix,Bayesian method was used to optimize the velocity-dimensional projection matrix to reduce the strong mutual coherence brought by sampling of Doppler frequency,then the efficient sparse imaging could be achieved.The simulation results show that proposed method can improve the efficiency,accurate imaging performance with efficient.     

A characterization of subsurface radar targets

The capability of subsurface target identification at shallow depths has been demonstrated using an electromagnetic video or base-band pulse radar. Real radar measurements were collected for five targets at a depth of 5 cm (2 in) in various ground conditions. These measurements were processed for target characterization and identification. Identification performance based on a single radar observation was evalualted. The identification process requires only simple algebraic operations and thus offers the potential of real-time on-location identification of subsurface targets.     

A fast wavelet-based reconstruction method for magnetic resonance imaging

In this work, we exploit the fact that wavelets can represent magnetic resonance images well, with relatively few coefficients. We use this property to improve magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) reconstructions from undersampled data with arbitrary k-space trajectories. Reconstruction is posed as an optimization problem that could be solved with the iterative shrinkage/thresholding algorithm (ISTA) which, unfortunately, converges slowly. To make the approach more practical, we propose a variant that combines recent improvements in convex optimization and that can be tuned to a given specific k-space trajectory. We present a mathematical analysis that explains the performance of the algorithms. Using simulated and in vivo data, we show that our nonlinear method is fast, as it accelerates ISTA by almost two orders of magnitude. We also show that it remains competitive with TV regularization in terms of image quality.     

基于穿墙雷达的虚拟多视角成像

由于墙体及室内目标的存在,穿墙雷达回波信号中包含许多多径分量,导致在成像后图像中存在许多幻影分量.在传统的穿墙雷达成像及预处理中,将多径分量视为杂波和干扰分量,并提出许多方法来抑制多径分量.基于多径分量提供了同一目标不同观测视角的优势,提出了一种基于室内电波传播模型的多径利用方法.该方法在后向投影成像方法的基础上,利用双圆解析表达式方法识别图像中幻影的位置信息,将幻影与目标相关联,并结合指数加权函数的方法,实现目标的虚拟多视角成像,仿真实测结果验证了该方法的有效性.     

Statistical method to detect subsurface objects using arrayground-penetrating radar data

We introduce a combination of high-dimensional analysis of variance (HANOVA) and sequential probability ratio test (SPRT) to detect buried objects from an array ground-penetrating radar (GPR) surveying a region of interest in a progressive manner. Using HANOVA, we exploit the transient characteristic of GPR signals in the time domain to extract information about buried objects at fixed positions of the array. Based on the output of the HANOVA, the SPRT is employed to make detection decisions recursively as the array moves downtrack. The method is on-line implementable and of low computational complexity. Our approach is validated using field-data from two quite different GPR sensing systems designed for landmine detection applications     

Time-domain inverse scattering method for cross-borehole radar imaging

In this paper, we consider a solution method of the inverse problem of imaging two-dimensional (2D) objects buried underground by cross-hole radar data in the time domain. In addition to less information on the targets due to restriction on the arrangement of transmitters and receivers than for full-view cases such as imaging of objects in free space, the large search region between boreholes makes solving the inverse problem difficult. Although iterative optimization approaches take long computing time, these approaches give much better image qualities for high-contrast objects than linear inversions such as a diffraction tomography. However, the reconstruction in a large search region with limited-view measurements often fails trapped in a local minimum. To overcome this difficulty, we propose a two-step iterative approach: the first step is to reduce the search region to a smaller one and the second step is the accurate reconstruction of the targets in the small region. Both steps are based on an iterative optimization approach, i.e., the forward-backward time-stepping method previously proposed. This two-step approach is tested for detection of tunnel-like objects surrounded by a heterogeneous background medium to evaluate its performance. Numerical results indicate the efficiency of the approach and its ability of circumventing local minima.     

Prediction-correction method for electromagnetic imaging withcurrent reconstruction

A prediction-correction methodology is presented for improving the numerical stability of the iterative process involved in the solution of nonlinear inverse scattering problems related to the electromagnetic imaging of dielectric objects. In various methods developed so far, each iteration is performed by only using the results obtained in the preceding iteration. The results computed in the preceding iteration along with those acquired in previous iterations are employed selectively to make a prediction of the object function to be used in the next iteration. As a consequence, the numerical stability and the convergence of the iterative process are improved. This is illustrated by numerical computation results obtained for lossless and for lossy dielectric bodies     

Developing experimental models for a bistatic subsurface radar

The letter presents preliminary results from a recent experimental investigation to characterise the electromagnetic scattering from conducting objects submerged in a dissipative half-space. The variation of the magnetic field with respect to the depth of the scattering object is discussed. Correlations are also sought between the measured field components and the size of the scattering object.     

非均匀线阵多输入多输出雷达成像旁瓣抑方法

针对非均匀线阵多输入多输出(Multiple Input Multiple Output,MIMO)雷达空间采样率低、成像旁瓣较高的问题,提出了一种基于阵列内插技术的非均匀线阵MIMO雷达成像旁瓣抑制方法. 对匹配滤波后MIMO雷达形成的非均匀等效阵列进行虚拟内插处理,将其变换为均匀线阵,在此基础上,再采用反向投影(Back Projection,BP)算法进行成像. 理论分析和仿真结果表明：所提方法有效地降低了非均匀线阵MIMO雷达的旁瓣水平,提高了成像质量.      

A three-parameter mechanical property reconstruction method for MR-based elastic property imaging

A reconstruction process featuring full parameterization of the three dimensional, time-harmonic equations of linear elasticity is developed and reconstructed property images are presented from simulation-based investigation. While interesting in its own right through the potential for increased adaptability of these reconstructive elastic imaging techniques, this study also presents a set of analysis tools used to study the poor convergence behavior found in the case of tissue like conditions (i.e. nearly incompressible materials). The choice of elastic properties for imaging in elastography research remains an open question at this point; the use of the stability and sensitivity-based analytical methods described here will help to predict and understand the value and reliability of different parameterizations of elasticity imaging. Additionally, though results indicate significant work needs to be done to achieve effective multiparameter reconstructive imaging, the methods detailed here offer the promise of increased flexibility and sophistication in elastographic imaging techniques.     

Fast 3-d tomographic microwave imaging for breast cancer detection

Microwave breast imaging (using electromagnetic waves of frequencies around 1 GHz) has mostly remained at the research level for the past decade, gaining little clinical acceptance. The major hurdles limiting patient use are both at the hardware level (challenges in collecting accurate and noncorrupted data) and software level (often plagued by unrealistic reconstruction times in the tens of hours). In this paper we report improvements that address both issues. First, the hardware is able to measure signals down to levels compatible with sub-centimeter image resolution while keeping an exam time under 2 min. Second, the software overcomes the enormous time burden and produces similarly accurate images in less than 20 min. The combination of the new hardware and software allows us to produce and report here the first clinical 3-D microwave tomographic images of the breast. Two clinical examples are selected out of 400+ exams conducted at the Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center (Lebanon, NH). The first example demonstrates the potential usefulness of our system for breast cancer screening while the second example focuses on therapy monitoring.     

基于支持向量机的穿墙雷达目标形状重构方法

为解决超宽带穿墙雷达中目标成像问题,提出一种后向投影算法和支持向量机(Support Vector Machine,SVM)相结合的方法.该方法通过BP算法得到穿墙成像数据,再利用SVM对数据进行分类,成功地解决了穿墙成像中的目标定位和形状识别问题.利用穿墙模型实验数据的仿真结果验证了该方法的可行性和有效性.测试结果表明:该方法能对墙后未知目标实现形状重构,且具有极高的空间分辨率;此外,当信号被噪声污染时,该方法也能很好对墙后目标形状进行预测,体现了该方法的鲁棒性.最后对不同采样长度和空间采样间隔的分析表明,采样长度和采样间隔对目标形状识别的影响有限,采样位置数的增加、采样间隔的减小更有利于提高目标的分类准确率.     

Time-domain imaging of radar targets using sinogram restoration forlimited-view reconstruction

The time-domain image reconstruction problem can be formulated as a sinogram recovery problem. The sinogram recovery problem is to find a complete sinogram based on the measured incomplete sinogram. In this paper, we solve the sinogram recovery problem by using linear prediction techniques. Since the scattered field of a target can be written as a superposition of distinct specular reflections arising from scattering centers on the target, the trace of the scattering centers can be predicted using linear prediction with the change of the observation angle. Thus, the missing data may be predicted before reconstructing the image. Some useful results obtained using the proposed method are presented     

一种快速三维重建评估算法

任何一种三维重建算法都必须对其优劣进行定量评估。不同的三维重建算法所采取的世界坐标系不同,所重建出的景物的大小、位置、姿态也不同,无法直接与标准库给出的精确测量值进行比对。提出了一种新的算法,利用Anders Dahl等人建立的多视点标准数据库里的摄像机投影矩阵,通过最小二乘拟合,直接估算出从算法自身的世界坐标到标准库世界坐标的变换矩阵,再稍作优化,然后统计计算重建精度和覆盖度,从而简化了评估过程。     

A novel imaging method in stepped frequency radar without spurious peaks

Stepped frequency signal is often used to synthesize high-resolution range profile, but redundant high-resolution range profile exists before synthesis. Two methods have been given to extract target from overlapped high-resolution range profile and analyzed to show how spurious peaks appear. This paper provides a reverse-count algorithm to resolve the problem of spurious peaks for moving target. This proposed method selects the peak with maximum amplitude as the extracted target and gets its position by using the number of samples prceding before the present sample position and the number of high-resolution range cell of the target. This proposed method is compared with the already given method and the result shows the ability of the proposed method to remove spurious peaks, it provides the foundation for high-resolution range profile.     

星球次表层探测雷达回波仿真

在中国未来的深空探测计划中,将采用天基雷达探测技术,以实现对整个星球表面次表层结构的探测。星载高频雷达探测仪通过月球表面天底点和次表面天底点的回波时延差与强度探测月球分层结构。为了获取次表层结构信息,研究了电磁波在月球分层结构内散射与传播的建模与模拟,对利用KA近似方法计算表层及次表层回波的方法进行了研究,分析了不同参数对回波的影响,最后通过仿真进行了验证。