MLP-based radar detectors for Swerling 1 targets

This paper deals with the application of Multilayer Perceptrons to radar detection. The dependence of the neural detector performance on the network size and on the signal-to-noise ratio selected for training is considered. Multilayer Perceptrons with different numbers of neurons in the hidden layer have been trained using different values of the signal-to-noise ratio to minimize the mean square error using the error back-propagation algorithm. Results show that the higher the number of hidden neurons, the closer the neural detector to the Neyman-Pearson optimum detector and the lower the dependence of the Multilayer Perceptron performance on the signal-to-noise ratio selected for training. Due to its practical interest, the very low probability of false alarm values has been considered. To estimate the probability of a false alarm, importance sampling techniques have been used in order to reduce the computational cost of maintaining a low relative error. The text was submitted by the authors in English. Maria Pilar Jarabo-Amores. Year of birth: 1971. Year in which an academic degree was awarded: Telecomunication Engineer, Polythecnic University of Madrid, 1997. Affiliation: Signal Theory and Communications Department, Polytechnic School, Alcalá University (Spain). Position: Associate Professor. Area of research: Signal Processing, Signal Detection, Radar Systems. Number of publications (monographs and articles): 21 journal articles, 8 book chapters, 31 conference contributions, 2 books. Membership to academies, scientific societies, and editorial boards and journals: IEEE member. Awards and prizes for achievements in research or applications: Best PhD. Thesis in Telecommunications Engineering at Alcalá University. Roberto Gil-Pita. Year of birth: 1978. Year in which an academic degree was awarded: Telecomunication Engineer, Alcalá University, 2001. Affiliation: Signal Theory and Communications Department, Polytechnic School, Alcalá University (Spain). Position: Associate Professor. Area of research: Signal Processing and Radar applications. Number of publications (monographs and articles): 23 journal articles, 5 book chapters, 18 conference contributions. Membership to academies, scientific societies, and editorial boards and journals: IEEE Member. Manuel Rosa-Zurera. Year of birth: 1968. Year in which an academic degree was awarded: Telecomunication Engineer, Polythecnic University of Madrid, 1995. Affiliation: Signal Theory and Communications Department, Polytechnic School, Alcalá University (Spain). Position: Associate Professor and Head of the Department. Area of research: Signal Processing, Signal Detection, Radar Systems. Number of publications (monographs and articles): 37 journal articles, 14 book chapters, 61 conference contributions, 2 books. Membership to academies, scientific societies, and editorial boards and journals: IEEE member. Francisco López-Ferreras. Year of birth: 1948. Year in which an academic degree was awarded: Telecomunication Engineer, Polytechnic University of Madrid, 1970. Affiliation: Signal Theory and Communications Department, Polytechnic School, Alcalá University (Spain). Position: Associate Professor and Dean. Area of research: Signal Processing. Number of publications (monographs and articles): 41 journal articles, 16 book chapters, 92 conference contributions, 10 books. Membership to academies, scientific societies, and editorial boards and journals: IEEE member. Raúl Vicen-Bueno. Year of birth: 1977. Year in which an academic degree was awarded: Telecomunication Engineer, Alcalá University, 2002. Affiliation: Signal Theory and Communications Department, Polytechnic School, Alcalá University (Spain). Position: Assistant Professor. Area of research: Signal Processing and Radar applications. Number of publications (monographs and articles): 14 journal articles, 3 book chapters, 5 conference contributions, 1 book. Awards and prizes for achievements in research or applications: Second place in the “Liberalization de las Telecomunicaciones” awards, given by the “Colegio Oficial de Ingenieros Tecnicos de Telecomunicacion” (COITT) of Spain.