Low cost, high performance radar networks

• US 10,101,437 B2
• Filed: 02/25/2013
• Issued: 10/16/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 04/20/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Accipter Radar Technologies Inc.
• Original Assignee: Accipter Radar Technologies Inc.
• Inventors: Nohara, Timothy J., Premji, Al-Nasir, Ukrainec, Andrew M., Weber, Peter T., Jones, Graeme S., Krasnor, Carl E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Barker, Matthew M
• Application Number:
  US13/775,660
• Publication Number:
  US 20130342380A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,059 Days
• Field of Search: 342190
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/726 Multiple target tracking
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/87 Combinations of radar systems, e.g. primary radar and secondary radar
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/917 for marine craft or other waterborne vessels
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/937 of marine craft
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/003 Transmission of data between radar, sonar or lidar systems and remote stations
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/046 using an intermediate storage device, e.g. a recording/reproducing device
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/068 with data-rate converters preceding the display, e.g. flicker free display, constant brightness display G01S7/298 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/22 Producing cursor lines and indicia by electronic means
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/292 Extracting wanted echo-signals

Abstract

A real-time radar surveillance system comprises at least one land-based non-coherent radar sensor apparatus adapted for detecting maneuvering targets and targets of small or low radar cross-section. The radar sensor apparatus includes a marine radar device, a digitizer connected to the marine radar device for receiving therefrom samples of radar video echo signals, and computer programmed to implement a software-configurable radar processor generating target data including detection data and track data, the computer being connectable to a computer network including a database. The processor is figured to transmit at least a portion of the target data over the network to the database, the database being accessible via the network by at least one user application that receives target data from the database, the user application providing a user interface for at least one user of the system.

Claims

1. A historical radar data analysis method comprising:

operating at least one radar apparatus to transmit radar pulses;

further operating said at least one radar apparatus to receive radar echoes;

additionally operating said at least one radar apparatus to generate, from the received radar echoes, radar target data including radar target tracks;

operating a radar data server to continuously receive in a real-time fashion said radar target data including said radar target tracks generated by said at least one radar apparatus, said radar data server including a SQL or structured query language database, the operating of said radar data server including operating said SQL or structured query language database to organize, insert and store the received radar target data including said radar target tracks in a real-time fashion as organized radar target data (i) so that said organized radar target data including said radar target tracks are made available for immediate access from said database as real-time target data by a radar display or processor that operates in a real-time fashion, continuously being updated by said radar data server, and (ii) so that said organized radar target data stored in said database can be queried for subsequent access as historical target data, said historical target data being taken from the group consisting of (i) said radar target tracks and (ii) threat alerts;

operating a user application on a computer to communicate, to said radar data server, a request for target data from said historical target data;

further operating said radar data server to receive said request, select and extract the requested target data from said database and send said requested target data to the requesting user application; and

further operating said user application on said computer to receive, from said radar data server, said requested target data from said historical target data in said database.

2. The method in claim 1 wherein said requested target data pertain to targets taken from the group consisting of (i) non-cooperative targets with collision predictions, (ii) non-cooperative targets with predetermined origins or destinations, (iii) non-cooperative targets approaching a security perimeter, (iv) non-cooperative targets violating a predetermined security perimeter, and (v) non-cooperative targets with a predetermined traffic density.

3. The method in claim 1 where said radar data server includes a web server and said user application is a web browser.

4. The method in claim 1 wherein said historical target data pertains at least in part to non-cooperative targets including at least one member of the group consisting of watercraft, snowmobiles, birds, aircraft and vehicles detected and tracked by said at least one radar apparatus.

5. The method in claim 1, further comprising additionally operating said user application on said computer to provide, from said selected historical target data, situational awareness for homeland security applications and bird aircraft strike hazard applications, the additional operating of said user application including analyses being taken from the group consisting of (i) statistical analyses, (ii) analyses to increase and establish knowledge on target behaviour, (iii) research and development on target identification algorithms, and (iv) provision of evidence for use in legal prosecutions.

6. The method in claim 5 wherein said additional operating of said user application and said analyses of said historical target data increase knowledge on target behavior, said knowledge being information on target routes and patterns.

7. A method for use in historical radar data analysis, comprising:

operating at least one radar apparatus to transmit radar pulses;

further operating said at least one radar apparatus to receive radar echoes;

additionally operating said at least one radar apparatus to generate, from the received radar echoes, radar target data including radar target tracks;

operating a radar data server to continuously receive in a real-time fashion said radar target data including said radar target tracks generated by said at least one radar apparatus, said radar data server including an SQL or structured query language database, the operating of said radar data server including operating said SQL or structured query language database to organize, insert and store the received radar target data including said radar target tracks in real-time fashion as organized radar target data (i) so that said organized target data stored in said database is made available for immediate access from said database as real-time target data by a radar display or processor that operates in a real-time fashion, continuously being updated by said radar data server, and (ii) and so that said organized radar target data stored in said database can be queried for subsequent access as historical target data, said historical target data including said radar target tracks;

additionally operating said radar data server to accumulate, in said database, said radar target data as organized radar target data over time resulting in a build-up and long-term storage of historical target data in said database;

affording access to said database by at least one user application, the affording of access including operating said radar data server to receive a request from said user application for target data from said historical target data; and

in response to the request from said user application, operating said radar data server to select and extract the requested target data from said database and send said requested target data to said user application.

8. The method in claim 7, further comprising operating a user application on a computer to analyze the requested target data to provide situational awareness for homeland security applications and bird aircraft strike hazard applications, the operating of said user application including analyses taken from the group consisting of (i) statistical analyses, (ii) analyses to increase and establish knowledge on target behaviour, (iii) research and development on target identification algorithms, and (iv) provision of evidence for use in legal prosecutions.

9. A method for use in historical radar data analysis, comprising:

operating at least one radar apparatus to transmit radar pulses;

further operating said at least one radar apparatus to receive radar echoes;

additionally operating said at least one radar apparatus to generate, from the received radar echoes, radar target data including radar target tracks;

operating a radar data server to continuously receive in a real-time fashion said radar target data including said radar target tracks generated by said at least one radar apparatus, said radar data server including an SQL or structured query language database, the operating of said radar data server including operating said SQL or structured query language database to organize, insert and store the received radar target data including said radar target tracks in real-time fashion as organized radar target data (i) so that said organized target data stored in said database is made available for immediate access from said database as real-time target data by a radar display or processor that operates in a real-time fashion, continuously being updated by said radar data server, and (ii) and so that said organized radar target data stored in said database can be queried for subsequent access as historical target data, said historical target data including said radar target tracks;

additionally operating said radar data server to accumulate, in said database, said radar target data as organized radar target data over time resulting in a build-up and long-term storage of historical target data in said database;

affording access to said database by at least one first user application, the affording of access including operating said radar data server to receive a request from said at least one first user application for real-time target data from said radar target data; and

in response to the request from said at least one first user application, operating said radar data server to select and extract the requested real-time target data from said database and send said requested real-time target data to said at least one first user application;

affording access to said database by at least one second user application, the affording of access including operating said radar data server to receive a request from said at least one second user application for target data from said historical target data; and

in response to the request from said at least one second user application, operating said radar data server to select and extract the requested target data from said database and send said requested target data to said at least one second user application.