Subsurface Imaging Using Distributed Moving Transceivers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) systems face limitations such as site-specific applicability, limited penetration depth, poor lateral resolution, and high cost due to the need for large antenna arrays, making them inefficient for imaging large areas or detecting deeply buried targets.
Innovation Solution
A subsurface imaging method using ultra-wideband signals and synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging with multiple transmitters and receivers, allowing for high mobility and efficient data collection through coherent processing and OFDM waveforms, enabling high-resolution imaging with reduced noise and increased sensitivity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If conventional GPR systems use uniform grid sampling to ensure complete subsurface coverage, then imaging completeness is improved, but inspection time increases significantly for large areas
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the sampling process by dividing the area into zones with different sampling densities. High-resolution sampling is applied only to areas of interest or suspected target locations, while low-resolution sampling covers the remaining areas. This segmentation allows the system to maintain imaging completeness for critical areas while dramatically reducing the total number of sampling points required, thereby improving inspection speed without sacrificing measurement precision where it matters most.
2Measurement precision
If GPR systems use large antenna arrays to enhance lateral resolution, then imaging resolution is improved, but system mobility decreases and cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent resolves the contradiction between lateral resolution and mobility by transitioning from spatial dimension to temporal dimension. Instead of using large antenna arrays in the spatial domain, the system employs a single or small number of antennas that move through space over time. The synthetic aperture radar technique synthesizes a large effective aperture by coherently processing signals collected at multiple positions and times, achieving high lateral resolution with a compact, mobile platform.
3Measurement precision
If GPR systems increase transmitter power to enhance penetration depth, then detection capability for deep targets is improved, but compliance with power regulations becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies continuity of useful action by continuously moving the transmitter and receiver through the inspection area rather than using high power at fixed locations. The system collects data continuously along the survey path, and the synthetic aperture processing coherently integrates these continuous measurements to achieve deep penetration capability. This approach maintains low instantaneous power levels that comply with regulations while accumulating sufficient signal energy through continuous integration over the entire survey trajectory.
4Device complexity
If conventional GPR systems use fixed monostatic transceivers to simplify system design, then device complexity is reduced, but imaging resolution and sensitivity deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces dynamics into the system by making both the transmitter and receiver mobile rather than fixed. The moving transceiver configuration allows the system to collect data from multiple positions and angles, creating a synthetic aperture that dramatically improves imaging resolution and sensitivity. The dynamic movement of the transceivers through the inspection area enables the system to achieve high-resolution imaging without requiring complex fixed antenna arrays or multiple stationary transceivers.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This method provides high-resolution, high-sensitivity subsurface imaging with improved mobility and reduced data collection time, capable of detecting deeply buried targets and pipelines across varying soil conditions, enhancing the reliability and applicability of subsurface imaging.
Implementation Method 1
transmitting an ultra-wideband (UWB) signal into the ground by at least one transmitter
Implementation Method 2
receiving, by the receiver, a signal scattered by an object in the ground
Data Source
AI summary
A subsurface imaging technique using distributed sensors is introduced. Instead of monostatic transceivers employed in conventional ground penetrating radars, the proposed technique utilizes bi-static transceivers to sample the reflected signals from the ground at different positions and create a large two-dimensional aperture for high resolution subsurface imaging. The coherent processing of the samples in the proposed imaging method eliminates the need for large antenna arrays for obtaining high lateral resolution images. In addition, it eliminates the need for sampling on a grid which is a time-consuming task in imaging using ground penetration radar. Imaging results show that the method can provide high-resolution images of the buried targets using only samples of the reflected signals on a circle with the center at the transmitter location.