Reconfigurable GPR Antenna with Pivoting Wheel for Corner Access
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional GPR devices are bulky, heavy, and difficult to use in corners and edges of building structures, and they cannot change polarization for acquiring data on the same path with both H- and V-polarization, limiting data quality and resolution.
Innovation Solution
A reconfigurable GPR device with a radar antenna capable of emitting and receiving radar waves of different polarizations, equipped with a wheel assembly and direction-determining unit that allows for real-time adjustment of polarization and data acquisition along a defined path.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If conventional handheld GPR devices are used, then the device can be operated on different surfaces, but the device is big, heavy and bulky making it difficult to operate by hand
Solution Approach 1:
The GPR device is divided into separate functional modules: a handheld controller for operation, a separate antenna unit for radar emission, and a processing unit. This segmentation allows the heavy antenna to be detached from the handheld controller, reducing the weight the operator must carry while maintaining the ability to operate on different surfaces.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention transitions from a single integrated handheld device to a multi-component system where the antenna can be positioned independently from the controller. This spatial separation in another dimension allows the antenna to reach difficult areas while the lightweight controller remains easy to handle.
2Productivity
If conventional GPR devices are used, then the device can acquire data on a path, but it is difficult and often impossible to acquire data in corners and around edges of building structures
Solution Approach 1:
Separating the antenna from the controller allows the antenna to be positioned in corners and around edges where the handheld controller cannot reach, while the controller remains easily handleable in open areas for data acquisition.
Solution Approach 2:
The detached antenna acts as an intermediary that can reach into inaccessible areas like corners and edges, bridging the gap between the operator's accessible controller and the target areas that would otherwise be unreachable.
3Adaptability or versatility
If conventional GPR devices are used, then the device can emit radar waves with a fixed polarization, but it is impossible to change the polarization for acquiring data on the same path with both H- and V-polarization
Solution Approach 1:
The antenna unit is designed with dynamic reconfigurability, allowing the polarization of emitted radar waves to be changed during operation. This enables the same antenna to switch between H- and V-polarization modes, providing adaptability for different measurement requirements without requiring multiple fixed devices.
Solution Approach 2:
The antenna unit is designed to perform multiple functions by switching polarization modes, serving both H- and V-polarization requirements with a single reconfigurable component rather than requiring separate dedicated antennas for each polarization type.
4Measurement precision
If conventional GPR devices are used, then the device can acquire radar data, but refined processing and interpretation is impossible since information regarding polarization is not regularly available in the data set
Solution Approach 1:
The system incorporates feedback mechanisms that track and record polarization information alongside the radar data. This ensures that polarization state information is continuously available in the data set, enabling refined processing and interpretation while maintaining measurement precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The reconfigurable antenna unit acts as an intermediary that deliberately captures and preserves polarization information in the transmitted and received signals, making this previously lost information available for analysis and improving the overall quality of data interpretation.
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
Enables high-quality and high-resolution radar data acquisition with different polarizations along the same path, improving the ability to penetrate and image the interior structure of mediums like concrete, particularly in areas previously inaccessible.
Implementation Method 1
The underlying principle of GPR is the propagation of radar waves, e.g., with frequencies between 10 MHz and 10 GHz, which are emitted and received by at least one radar antenna
Implementation Method 2
Radar waves are further characterized by their polarization. In particular, radar waves may exhibit different directions of polarization. Orthogonally polarized radar waves may exhibit H-polarization (horizontal) or V-polarization (vertical)
Implementation Method 3
radar waves are reflected at a boundary of materials with differing dielectric constant and/or diamagnetic constant
Implementation Method 4
radar waves are reflected at a boundary of materials with differing dielectric constant and/or diamagnetic constant
Data Source
AI summary
A reconfigurable ground penetrating radar (GPR) device, an autonomous GPR system and method of acquiring radar data about a medium. The GPR device includes a radar antenna with a first polarization, a processor unit connected to said antenna, a casing around the antenna and the processor unit, a wheel assembly including a holder, a wheel and a wheel rotation sensor. The wheel rotation sensor is connected to the processor unit and an axis of the wheel is pivotal relative to the first polarization.