REAL-TIME SYSTEM FOR IMAGING AND OBJECT DETECTION WITH A MULTISTATIC GPR ARRAY
First Claim
1. A method for detecting presence of a subsurface object in a medium, the method comprising:
- for each of a plurality of down-track locations, acquiring return signals at receivers from signals emitted by transmitters into the medium, the transmitters and receivers operating in a multistatic mode;
pre-processing the return signals to suppress effects of extraneous signals;
for each down-track location, generating a real aperture radar image from the pre-processed return signals for that down-track location;
for each down-track location, generating a synthetic aperture radar image from the real aperture radar images of that down-track location and adjacent down-track locations;
post-processing the synthetic aperture radar images to separate objects in the foreground from clutter and medium in the background by filtering out effects of clutter followed by restoring spots within the filtered images to their pre-filtered values;
for each down-track location, generating a statistic based on energy of a restored spot within the filtered image for that down-track location; and
identifying down-track locations with peaks in the generated statistics; and
upon identifying a down-track location with a peak, indicating the presence of a subsurface object at that down-track location.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and system for detecting the presence of subsurface objects within a medium is provided. In some embodiments, the imaging and detection system operates in a multistatic mode to collect radar return signals generated by an array of transceiver antenna pairs that is positioned across the surface and that travels down the surface. The imaging and detection system pre-processes the return signal to suppress certain undesirable effects. The imaging and detection system then generates synthetic aperture radar images from real aperture radar images generated from the pre-processed return signal. The imaging and detection system then post-processes the synthetic aperture radar images to improve detection of subsurface objects. The imaging and detection system identifies peaks in the energy levels of the post-processed image frame, which indicates the presence of a subsurface object.
47 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method for detecting presence of a subsurface object in a medium, the method comprising:
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for each of a plurality of down-track locations, acquiring return signals at receivers from signals emitted by transmitters into the medium, the transmitters and receivers operating in a multistatic mode; pre-processing the return signals to suppress effects of extraneous signals; for each down-track location, generating a real aperture radar image from the pre-processed return signals for that down-track location; for each down-track location, generating a synthetic aperture radar image from the real aperture radar images of that down-track location and adjacent down-track locations; post-processing the synthetic aperture radar images to separate objects in the foreground from clutter and medium in the background by filtering out effects of clutter followed by restoring spots within the filtered images to their pre-filtered values; for each down-track location, generating a statistic based on energy of a restored spot within the filtered image for that down-track location; and identifying down-track locations with peaks in the generated statistics; and upon identifying a down-track location with a peak, indicating the presence of a subsurface object at that down-track location. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A computer-readable storage device storing computer-executable instructions for controlling a computing device to detect presence of a subsurface object in a medium, by a method comprising:
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for each of a plurality of down-track locations, acquiring return signals at receivers from signals emitted by transmitters into the medium, the transmitters and receiver forming a linear array of transceivers; pre-processing the return signals to suppress effects of extraneous signals; for each down-track location, generating a synthetic aperture radar image representing a subsurface image at that down-track location from the pre-processed return signals; post-processing the synthetic aperture radar images to separate objects in the foreground from clutter and medium in the background by filtering out effects of clutter; for each down-track location, generating a statistic based on energy of a spot within the filtered image for that down-track location; and identifying down-track locations with peaks in the generated statistics; and upon identifying a down-track location with a peak, indicating the presence of a subsurface object at that down-track location. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A computing device for detecting presence of a subsurface object in a medium from return signal acquired at a plurality of down-track locations by receivers from signals emitted by transmitters into the medium, the transmitters and receivers operating in a multistatic mode, comprising:
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a component that pre-processes the return signals to suppress effects of extraneous signals; a component that, for each down-track location, generates a real aperture radar image from the pre-processed return signals for that down-track location; a component that, for each down-track location, generates a synthetic aperture radar image from the real aperture radar images of that down-track location and adjacent down-track locations; a component that post-processes the synthetic aperture radar images to separate objects in the foreground from clutter and medium in the background by filtering out effects of clutter followed by restoring spots within the filtered images to their pre-filtered values; a component that, for each down-track location, generates a statistic based on energy of a restored spot within the filtered image for that down-track location; and a component that indicates the presence of a subsurface object at a down-track location having a statistic that represents a location peak in the statistics. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification