FMCW Projectile Detection Radar With Wide-Angle Monopulse Tracking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing projectile detection systems for vehicles, particularly aircraft, are too large to be mounted on them and lack the capability to provide a wide field-of-regard for detecting hazardous projectiles like bullets and grenades efficiently.
Innovation Solution
A lightweight FMCW radar system with monopulse antenna patterns and digital beamforming circuitry is mounted on vehicles to provide a wide field-of-regard, estimating angular information and resolving ambiguity by determining range, bearing, and Doppler information for each projectile, using a combination of transmit beam patterns to create a detection bubble.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If a wide field-of-regard is used to detect fast-moving projectiles, then detection coverage is improved, but the system size becomes too large to mount on a vehicle
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the detection task into multiple FMCW radar devices, each covering a specific angular sector. Each radar device operates independently with a focused beam, and the combined coverage of multiple devices provides the wide field-of-regard without requiring a single large radar system, thus maintaining compact size while achieving comprehensive coverage.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transitions from a single-dimension scanning approach to a multi-dimensional simultaneous detection approach by deploying multiple radar devices at different angular positions around the vehicle. This spatial arrangement allows parallel detection across multiple sectors, achieving wide coverage without increasing the size of individual radar units.
2Area of stationary object
If the transmit beam pattern has a wide angle to enhance detection of fast projectiles, then field-of-regard is improved, but measurement precision of target position deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
Each FMCW radar device uses a focused narrow beam pattern for precise measurement, rather than a wide diffuse beam. The segmentation of coverage into multiple directional sectors allows each sector to maintain high measurement precision while the aggregate coverage across all sectors provides the wide field-of-regard needed for comprehensive projectile detection.
Solution Approach 2:
The system merges the measurement data from multiple FMCW radar devices, each providing precise angular and range information within its own narrow beam sector. By combining these precise measurements from different angles, the system achieves both wide overall coverage and high position accuracy through data fusion.
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
The system effectively detects and tracks hazardous projectiles with high accuracy, providing miss distance and direction of origin, enabling timely response to threats with reduced size and complexity, and lower power consumption.
Implementation Method 1
Each frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) radar device of the hazardous fire detection system may measure range and Doppler information for targets within its FOR
Implementation Method 2
Each frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) radar device of the hazardous fire detection system may measure range and Doppler information for targets within its FOR
Implementation Method 3
The hazardous fire detection system may estimate angular information by using a monopulse antenna pattern with the radar receiver
Data Source
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AI summary
A hazardous fire detection radar system that may be mounted on a vehicle, such as an aircraft to detect bullets, grenades and similar projectiles that may pose a danger to the vehicle. The system may observe a wide field-of-regard (FOR) and for each projectile, determine the range of closest approach to the host platform (miss distance) and an approximate direction of origin. The FMCW radar system measures range and Doppler information for targets within its FOR and resolves Doppler ambiguity by estimating angular information (azimuth and elevation) for each target projectile. The system may estimate angular information by using a monopulse antenna pattern with the radar receiver.