A Panoramic Synthetic Aperture Radar

This article proposes a new synthetic aperture radar (SAR), named as panoramic SAR, based on a combination of linear and rotational SARs, by which a large 360 degrees panoramic view of the observed scene can be reconstructed. First, the system geometry and its imaging process based on the back-projection algorithm (BPA) are presented. The combined movement constitutes a 2-D synthetic aperture, and thus higher imaging resolutions can be obtained. The corresponding resolution analysis and the sampling criteria are discussed accordingly. Then, a novel dynamic piecewise compensation (DPC) algorithm, a recursive imaging process, is proposed to reduce the processing complexity significantly. The imaging implementation and the complexity are also studied respectively. Finally, a prototype of panoramic SAR is built based on an frequency-modulated continuous wave (FMCW) radar and a moving platform, and the simulation and experimental results are provided to validate the proposed panoramic SAR principle and the DPC algorithm.

Automated summary

This article proposes a new panoramic SAR which combines linear and rotational SARs to reconstruct a large 360 degrees panoramic view of the observed scene. It introduces the system geometry, imaging process, resolution analysis, sampling criteria, and a novel dynamic piecewise compensation algorithm. A prototype of panoramic SAR is built based on an FMCW radar and a moving platform, and simulation and experimental results are provided to validate the proposed principle and algorithm.