Radar Simulation Using EM Response Data for Early Design Validation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Live tests for radar systems are expensive and time-intensive, often occurring late in the development cycle, leading to significant rework and additional costs due to discovered issues.
Innovation Solution
A high-fidelity radar simulator that analyzes environmental response data from an electromagnetic simulator to generate a radar report, accounting for non-ideal characteristics, modulation schemes, and noise, allowing for early detection of design problems in radar systems.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If live tests are performed to evaluate radar performance, then performance evaluation is achieved, but cost and time consumption increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a virtual copy of the radar system and its operating environment through software simulation. The radar simulator replicates radar signal generation, transmission, and reception processes, along with virtual environmental conditions (clutter, noise, interference), allowing performance evaluation without physical live tests. This copying approach maintains measurement precision while eliminating time loss and cost associated with actual field testing.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent enables performance evaluation to be performed in advance during the design and development phases, before actual live tests are conducted. By implementing radar simulation early in the development cycle, potential issues can be identified and resolved beforehand, preventing costly rework during later testing stages and reducing overall project time and cost.
2Reliability
If live tests are performed to discover design problems, then design issues are detected, but rework costs and additional time are incurred
Solution Approach 1:
The radar simulator enables design validation and problem detection to occur during the design and integration phases, well before manufacturing and live deployment. By identifying and correcting design flaws in the virtual environment, the patent eliminates the need for expensive rework that would be required if problems were discovered only during live tests, thereby improving ease of manufacture while maintaining reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies preliminary anti-action by proactively identifying and correcting design problems before they manifest in actual hardware or field operations. The simulator allows engineers to anticipate and resolve potential issues with signal processing, antenna performance, and environmental interactions during the design phase, preventing the need for costly corrective rework later in the development cycle.
3Measurement precision
If high-fidelity simulation is implemented to improve radar report accuracy, then performance estimation precision is improved, but computational complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary layer between the electromagnetic simulator and the radar system analysis. The radar simulator acts as a mediator that translates electromagnetic simulation data into radar-specific performance metrics, accounting for radar signal characteristics, processing algorithms, and environmental effects. This intermediary approach maintains high measurement precision while managing computational complexity by focusing calculations on radar-relevant parameters rather than full electromagnetic field analysis.
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AI summary
Techniques and apparatuses are described that implement a high-fidelity radar simulator that performs operations associated with a radar system's hardware and/or software. The radar simulator can account for non-ideal characteristics within the radar system or environment and have an ability to process data from a variety of electromagnetic (EM) simulators. By using the radar simulator, an EM simulator can operate without specific information regarding the radar system's antenna response or signal generation. In this manner, the EM simulator can be decoupled from the radar system's design and operational configuration. Furthermore, the radar simulator can use the same environmental response data generated by the EM simulator to estimate performances of multiple radar systems. Use of the high-fidelity radar simulator enables problems to be efficiently discovered during design, integration, and testing phases of the radar system prior to performing a live test.