Detection of small objects in clutter using a GA-RBF neural network

Detection of small objects in a radar or satellite image is an important problem with many applications. Due to a recent discovery that sea clutter, the electromagnetic wave backscatter from a sea surface, is chaotic rather than purely random, computational intelligence techniques such as neural networks have been applied to reconstruct the chaotic dynamic of sea clutter. The reconstructed sea clutter dynamical system which usually takes the form of a nonlinear predictor does not only provide a model of the sea scattering phenomenon, but it can also be used to detect the existence of small targets such as fishing boats and small fragments of icebergs by observing abrupt changes in the prediction error. We applied a genetic algorithm (GA) to obtain an optimal reconstruction of sea clutter dynamic based on a radial basis function (RBF) neural network. This GA-RBF uses a hybrid approach that employes a GA to search for the optimum values of the following RBF parameters: centers, variance, and number of hidden nodes, and uses the least square method to determine the weights. It is shown here that if the functional form of an unknown nonlinear dynamical system can be represented exactly using an RBF net (i.e., no approximation error), this GA-RBF approach can reconstruct the exact dynamic from its time series measurements. In addition to the improved accuracy in modeling sea clutter dynamic, the GA-RBF is also shown to enhance the detectability of small objects embedded in the sea. Using real-life radar data that are collected in the east coast of Canada by two different radar systems: a ground-based radar and a satellite equipped with synthetic aperture radar (SAR), we show that the GA-RBF network is a reliable detector for small surface targets in various sea conditions and is practical for real-life search and rescue, navigation, and surveillance applications     

Robust range alignment algorithm via Hough transform in an ISARimaging system

The inverse synthetic aperture radar (ISAR) algorithm for imaging objects moving in a straight line requires range alignment as a preprocessing step since scatterers migrate through the various range bins. The conventional correlation alignment method fails when applied in ground scenarios like an airport due to the clutter environment. A procedure using Hough Transform (HT) alignment is presented which overcomes this disadvantage and provides information for clutter elimination     

Target detection trials with a millimeter wave radar system

Unobstructed, large RCS targets, similar radar targets surrounded by moving foliage, and small targets in severe clutter have been used as test cases for two pre-processing algorithms and several threshold levels in an experimental millimeter wave radar system. The rather conventional "six-out-of-eight" pulse radar selection method with binary output has been compared to an algorithm that accepts a target if the pre-defined trigger level is crossed by the average of the eight consecutive pulses. In this case, however, the output is an analog value corresponding to the relative average video amplitude. In terms of plotted video, this process seems to give a slightly better combination of false alarm rate and detection probability. Large targets are easier to detect from foliage clutter with the conventional method.     

基于协同进化粒子群和Pareto最优解的卫星编队队形重构方法

针对卫星编队自主队形重构问题,提出了基于协同进化粒子群优化(CPSO)和Pareto最优解的求解方法.首先,使用Legendre伪谱法(LPM)将队形重构问题离散化为非线性规划(NLP)问题;其次,根据卫星编队的特点及碰撞规避的需要,使用CPSO算法对重构问题采用既独立又集中的求解方式,避免了传统优化方法对梯度的求解;...     

Nonuniform Three-dimensional Configuration Distributed SAR Signal Reconstruction Clutter Suppression

This paper deals with the problem of clutter suppression in spaceborne distributed synthetic aperture radar (D-SAR) with nonuniform three-dimensional (3D) configuration geometry. In order to make a breakthrough of the configuration limitation of the traditional space time adaptive processing (STAP) based on uniform array and improve the inhomogeneous clutter suppression performance, this paper considers signal reconstruction technique using array interpolation to process the D-SAR signal. An array interpolation signal reconstruction method based on pitching-partition is derived then a signal reconstruction 3D-STAP clutter suppression method applied to nonuniform 3D configuration is proposed. In particular, the proposed method is compared with conventional methods and the performance analysis is carried out based on simulations. The improvement factor (IF) for clutter suppression is imported and reported as a benchmark on the clutter suppression effect.     

基于GPM的高超声速飞行器再入轨迹优化

为保证高超声速飞行器具有最大再入距离,应用高斯伪谱方法求取了存在路径约束及终端约束的飞行器最优再入轨迹。首先选取迎角及倾斜角作为最优控制量,并分析再入轨迹的最优控制模型;然后应用高斯伪谱方法将最优控制问题离散成非线性规划问题,并采用SNOPT软件包对非线性问题进行求解,得到最优轨迹。通过仿真证明了该方法求得的最优轨迹对初始值不敏感,且具有良好的实时性。     

Time-frequency method for detecting an accelerating target in sea clutter

The authors design a time-frequency (TF) method for use in high-frequency surface-wave radar (HFSWR) for detecting a small accelerating target in sea clutter. The clutter is modelled by pseudo targets moving with Bragg velocity towards and away from the radar. The design is based on the Wigner distribution (WD) defined by Chan (type-III WD, in our terminology) rather than the WD defined by Claasen and Mecklenbrauker (1980) (2times type-I WD, in our terminology). Like the type-I WD, the type-III WD also concentrates a chirp signal onto a straight line in the TF plane. The type-III WD has the following advantages: 1) Its range of unambiguously measurable frequencies (RUMF) is [-pi,pi] rad/s, whereas for the type-I WD the RUMF is [-pi/2,pi/2] rad/s. 2) It allows a target separated from the clutter by pi rad/s to be detected, whereas the type-I WD coalesces such a target with the clutter and thereby mask it. An ambiguity function (AF) was defined corresponding to the type-III WD and use it to derive a smoothed type-III WD that mitigates the clutter. The smoothed type-III WD method is applied to real radar data and shown to be superior to the conventional Fourier transform method. The advantages of the type-III WD over the type-I WD are also demonstrated. The design principles laid out in the paper can also be used to develop a TF method for use in air traffic control radar (ATCR) for detecting an accelerating target in land clutter     

Dim target detection using high order correlation method

This work presents a method for clutter rejection and dim target track detection from infrared (IR) satellite data using neural networks. A high-order correlation method which recursively computes the spatio-temporal cross-correlations between data of several consecutive scans is developed. The implementation of this scheme using a connectionist network is presented. Several important properties of the high-order correlation method which indicate that the resultant filtered images capture all the target information are established. The simulation results obtained with this approach show at least 93% clutter rejection. Further improvement in the clutter rejection rate is achieved by modifying the high-order correlation method to incorporate the target motion dynamics. The implementation of this modified high-order correlation using a high-order neural network architecture is demonstrated. The simulation results indicate at least 97% clutter rejection rate for this method. A comparison is also made between the methods developed here and the conventional frequency domain three-dimensional (3-D) filtering scheme, and the simulation results are provided     

三维高超声速飞行器再入轨迹快速优化

高超声速再入轨迹优化问题是一类复杂的最优控制问题。采用高斯伪谱法(GPM)将再入轨迹优化问题转化为非线性规划问题(NLP),对NLP进行归一化处理后,采用SNOPT软件包求解。根据协态变量映射规则计算出协态变量,得出哈密尔顿函数沿最优控制的变化过程。算例中,GPM耗时约7 s即可生成一条严格满足各种约束的三维最优再入轨迹,耗时远少于相关文献,并且优化精度高,满足一阶最优性必要条件。     

自动微分技术及其在轨迹优化中的应用

研究了自动微分技术在直接配点法中的应用,将其与内点非线性规划算法相结合,用于求解配点法转化得到的非线性规划问题。采用前向自动微分模式,利用ADOL-C实现了基于算子重载的自动微分计算;为验证算法的性能,以经典的航天飞机再入轨迹优化问题为例,针对三种直接配点格式,比较了自动微分法和有限差分法用于微分计算的性能。研究结果表明,自动微分可以提高微分信息计算的精度和效率,进而提高非线性规划算法的稳定性和收敛速度。     

Tracking in clutter with nearest neighbor filters: analysis andperformance

The measurement that is “closest” to the predicted target measurement is known as the “nearest neighbor” (NN) measurement in tracking. A common method currently in wide use for tracking in clutter is the so-called NN filter, which uses only the NN measurement as if it were the true one. The purpose of this work is two fold. First, the following theoretical results are derived: the a priori probabilities of all three data association events (updates with correct measurement, with incorrect measurement, and no update), the probability density functions (pdfs) of the NN measurement conditioned on the association events, and the one-step-ahead prediction of the matrix mean square error (MSE) conditioned on the association events. Secondly, a technique for prediction without recourse to expensive Monte Carlo simulations of the performance of tracking in clutter with the NN filter is presented. It can quantify the dynamic process of tracking divergence as well as the steady-state performance. The technique is a new development along the line of the recently developed general approach to the performance prediction of algorithm with both continuous and discrete uncertainties     

基于序列二次规划算法的发动机性能寻优控制

提出用非线性序列二次规划(SQP,Sequen tial Q uadratic P rogramm ing)算法解决发动机性能寻优控制问题。分析了线性规划(LP,L inear P rogramm ing)算法用于发动机性能寻优的固有缺陷以及SQP算法的优点。给出了SQP算法与LP算法用于最大推力模式和最小油耗模式仿真结果对比曲线。数字仿真实验的结果表明,SQP算法具有比LP算法更好的优化效果,在工程实际中有很大的应用潜力。     

CFAR for homogeneous part of high-resolution imagery

In high-resolution imaging, weak target pixel amplifiers may not be detected in the presence of clutter containing strong nonhomogeneities, when conventional approaches are used. The authors describe a constant false alarm rate (CFAR) approach that avoids the elimination of these significant target returns. The nonhomogeneous clutter as well as the weak target components are detected with this approach. The targets could then be discriminated from the homogeneities by discrimination techniques. It is shown how the lower amplitude components of the background noise and homogeneous clutter (which have Rayleigh statistics) can be detected in the presence of strong homogeneous clutter and targets. The average level of the homogeneous component is then determined using these lower-amplitude components. This CFAR approach avoids having a CFAR on the strong nonhomogeneities as well as the homogeneous component. The avoidance is what yields the ability to detect weak target pixel amplitudes     

Detection Performance in Clutter with Variable Resolution

Experiments were conducted to determine the influence of background clutter on target detection criteria. The experiment consisted of placing observers in front of displayed images on a TV monitor. Observer ability to detect military targets embedded in simulated natural and manmade background clutter was measured when there was unlimited viewing time. Results were described in terms of detection probability versus target resolution for various signal to clutter ratios (SCR). The experiments were preceded by a search for a meaningful clutter definition. The selected definition was a statistical measure computed by averaging the standard deviation of contiguous scene cells over the whole scene. The cell size was comparable to the target size. Observer test results confirmed the expectation that the resolution required for a given detection probability was a continuum function of the clutter level. At the lower SCRs the resolution required for a high probability of detection was near 6 line pairs per target (LP/TGT), while at the higher SCRs it was found that a resolution of less than 0.25 LP/TGT would yield a high probability of detection. These results are expected to aid in target acquisition performance modeling and to lead to improved specifications for imaging automatic target screeners.     

基于CEMD的旋翼微动目标杂波抑制方法

针对旋翼微动目标杂波抑制问题,研究了一种基于复数据经验模态分解（CEMD）的微动目标杂波抑制方法。首先,建立了地杂波背景下的旋翼微动目标信号模。然后,根据杂波和微动信号在时频域的差异性,基于CEMD和Gabor变换,通过新定义的不同本征模态函数（IMF）的能量所占总能量的比重,选择出微动信号占优所对应的几个IMF分量,并基于这些IMF对旋翼微动目标进行时域和时频域重构,实现旋翼微动目标和杂波的分离,达到抑制杂波提取微动目标回波的目的。最后,与常规杂波抑制方法进行了对比,仿真结果验证了所提方法的有效性。     

Missing radar pulse clutter processing

The degradation of conventional clutter processing filters due to missing pulses resulting from RF interference blanking, ambiguous range returns when no filter pulses are used, or eclipsing is described. The effects of a missing pulse on uncompensated and optimum clutter filters are investigated. The maximum improvement factor method and other methods are compared to the optimum filtering. New methods and results using a minimax log energy search method are described and are shown to provide performance and/or implementation complexity advantages     

Adaptive Radar Detection in Doubly Nonstationary Autoregressive Doppler Spread Clutter

The problem of adaptive radar detection in clutter which is nonstationary both in slow and fast time is addressed. Nonstationarity within a coherent processing interval (CPI) often precludes target detection because of the masking induced by Doppler spreading of the clutter. Across range bins (i.e., fast time), nonstationarity severely limits the amount of training data available to estimate the noise covariance matrix required for adaptive detection. Such difficult clutter conditions are not uncommon in complex multipath propagation conditions where path lengths can change abruptly in dynamic scenarios. To mitigate nonstationary Doppler spread clutter, an approximation to the generalized likelihood ratio test (GLRT) detector is presented wherein the CPI from the hypothesized target range is used for both clutter estimation and target detection. To overcome the lack of training data, a modified time-varying autoregressive (TVAR) model is assumed for the clutter return. In particular, maximum likelihood (ML) estimates of the TVAR parameters, computed from a single snapshot of data, are used in a GLRT for detecting stationary targets in possibly abruptly nonstationary clutter. The GLRT is compared with three alternative methods including a conceptually simpler ad hoc approach based on extrapolation of quasi-stationary data segments. Detection performance is assessed using simulated targets in both synthetically-generated and real radar clutter. Results suggest the proposed GLRT with TVAR clutter modeling can provide between 5–8 dB improvement in signal-to-clutter plus noise ratio (SCNR) when compared with the conventional methods.     

Adaptive Rectification Filter for Detecting Small IR Targets

Clutter suppression is one of the most important subjects in the field of small target detection under infrared (IR) strong clutter background. While removing the clutter background, however, such methods may reverse the relative energy distribution of target and noise in the clutter suppressed image, and disturb the subsequent target segmentation and detection. This paper analyzes the causation of such problems, does research on the relationship between target energy characteristics and detection probability, and presents a novel filter of energy distribution adaptive rectification (EDARF). Based on the EDARF, an improved framework of dim small target detection is proposed to rectify the energy distribution in the clutter-suppressed images by conventional adaptive filters. The proposed EDARF's performance is estimated by experimental comparisons of three linear/nonlinear filters before and after using EDARF. Extensive experimental results show that the proposed EDARF improves efficiently the performance of detecting dim small targets against strong undulant cloud-cluttered backgrounds.     

基于稀疏重建的MIMO-OTH雷达多模杂波抑制算法

针对由多模传播引起的多普勒扩展杂波(SDC)严重影响天波超视距雷达(OTHR)对慢速船舰目标的检测这一问题,在基于多输入多输出体制的新一代天波超视距(MIMO-OTH)雷达系统下,利用空域信息抑制多模SDC。传统处理方法需要目标角度先验信息,而在实际中,该信息往往很难获得。为此,提出一种新的基于稀疏重建的多模杂波抑制算法。该算法将二维的稀疏角度搜索转变为一维的角度搜索,使运算量大大降低,且估计出的收发角(DOA-DOD)自动配对,同时可获得各个传播路径下信号的时间多普勒信息,达到了理想的MIMO-OTH雷达多模杂波抑制效果。仿真结果证明了所提算法的有效性。