Automatic target recognition of time critical moving targets using1D high range resolution (HRR) radar

Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imaging and Automatic Target Recognition (ATR) of moving targets pose a significant challenge due to the inherent difficulty of focusing moving targets. As a result, ATR of moving targets has recently received increased interest. High Range Resolution (HRR) radar mode offers an approach for recognizing moving targets by forming focused HRR profiles with significantly enhanced target-to-(clutter+noise) (T/(C+N)) via Doppler filtering and/or clutter cancellation. A goal of HRR ATR transition is the implementation and evaluation of algorithms exhibiting robustness under extended operating conditions (EOC). The public domain Moving and Stationary Target Acquisition and Recognition (MSTAR) data set was used to study 1D template-based ATR development and performance. Due to the unavailability of a statistically significant moving ground target data set, this approach was taken as an interim step in assessing the separability of ground targets when using range only discriminants. This report summarizes the data and algorithm methodology, simulated performance results, and recommendations     

The ionospheres and plasma tails of comets

The present understanding of cometary ionospheres and plasma tails is critically evaluated. Following a brief introduction of the significance of the study of cometary ionospheres and tails (Section 1), the observational statistics and spectroscopic observations are summarized in Sections 2 and 3.The complicated and time varying morphology of the plasma tail and the ionosphere as revealed both by photographs as well as visual drawings is discussed in Section 4.The evidence for a strong comet-solar wind interaction, the possible nature of this interaction and also the use of comets as probes of the solar wind are considered in the next 3 sections (5, 6, 7). This is followed by a discussion of the various processes so far proposed for the ionization of cometary gases and their limitations (Section 8).Hydrodynamic models of the solar wind-comet interaction, which refers essentially to the region outside the tangential discontinuity, are presented and evaluated in Section 9. A discussion of the ion chemistry and structure of the region inside the tangential discontinuity (which is here referred to as the cometary ionosphere) follows in Section 10.The largely indirect evidence for the existence of substantial magnetic fields in cometary ionospheres and type 1 tails is evaluated and their likely origin is considered in Section 11. The associated electric currents; their size and closure as well as their importance as sources of ionization in the inner coma are also discussed.Finally in Section 12, some of the directions in which future research should progress, in order to provide a more complete and secure knowledge of cometary ionospheres and plasma tails, are stressed.     

State of the art in adaptive control of robotic systems

An up-to-date assessment of adaptive control technology as applied to robotics is presented. Although the field is relatively new and does not yet represent a mature discipline, considerable attention for the design of sophisticated robot controllers has occurred. In this presentation, adaptive control methods are divided into model reference adaptive systems and self-tuning regulators with further definition of various approaches given in each class. The similarity and distinct features of the designed controllers are delineated and tabulated to enhance comparative review     

Fuel atomization and mixing in unsteady swirling flows behind the gas-dynamic stabilizer

Features of fuel atomization and propagation in the flow behind a gas-dynamic stabilizer are considered. Estimations of the influence of transverse jets impulse magnitude on characteristics of mixing behind the stabilizer are obtained by numerical and experimental methods.     

Deconvolution of Energetic Neutral Atom Images of the Earth's Magnetosphere

A method for deconvolving equatorial pitch angle distributions of energetic neutral atoms from images from the ENA instruments on the IMAGE satellite is described and illustrated using simulated data obtained from calculated models of ring current flux. The unknown flux is expanded in terms of cubic B-splines and Legendre polynomials. The expansion coefficients are obtained from the solution of a linear set of equations that select the smoothest solution that fits the data. In this way, all the information that is contained in the data is extracted but no more.     

Hard Limiting in Synthetic Aperture Signal Processing

In synthetic aperture radar a large linear phased array is formed from the rapid movement of a single element through each position in the array. Storage and coherent combining of the successive radar echoes are central to the array-forming process. Optical processing is the most common technique because of the efficiency with which Fourier transformation may be accomplished with simple optics. Real-time operation, however, requires all-electronic processing, which is difficult to accomplish because of the huge quantity of data to be manipulated. Dynamic range compression by hard limiting may ease the problem by reducing the number of bits per frame. The effects of hard limiting are analyzed in this paper. It is shown that large targets simultaneously illuminated by the radar antenna will produce image targets or ghosts displaced in angle. Statistically homogeneous clutter will "linearize" the hard-limited receiver and suppress the ghosts without loss in contrast, as does thermal noise if it is larger than the target echoes. Pulse compression reduces the probability of images from prominent targets. Judicious choice of the pulse-compression waveform is a powerful tool for destroying coherent buildup of images from all large targets not in the same range resolution cell. Linear FM, the most common choice, unfortunately does not exhibit this desirable property.     

Noise Prediction for Rate Multiplier and Binary Adder Frequency Synthesizers

The theory for design of a rate multiplier or a binary adder frequency synthesizer for a specified level of noise attenuation is developed. Examples are presented to demonstrate the design procedure and the pattern of the pulse train output. The phase jitter associated with each pulse is characterized and illustrated in the time domain. The maximum absolute phase deviation is used as a measure of the phase modulation amplitude of the pulse train. Computer simulation resulted in simple equations approximating the amplitude of worst case spectral components.