A feasibility study on real-time concealed object detection in foliage using STDCC radar

Abstract

This paper reports on the first results of a Swept Time-Delay Cross Correlator (STDCC) based radar performance for the detection of concealed objects in a foliage. The real-time STDCC radar operating at 25 GHz with 500 MHz bandwidth detection capabilities is benchmarked together with a VNA technique using a central frequency of 11 GHz with 18 GHz bandwidth. A set of measurements were performed to assess the attenuation caused by multiple trees and compare them with literature model estimations. Both radar techniques may accurately detect the position of a concealed corner reflector, showing their great stability over time. The object distance accuracy was confirmed to be related with the used bandwidth, having both technologies been compared with different and same bandwidths. Our analysis also confirmed the expected 20 dB of single tree attenuation, showing similar detections/attenuations with both radar systems.