Analysis of radar micro-Doppler signatures from experimental helicopter and human data

Abstract

This paper highlights the extraction of micro-Doppler (m-D) features from radar signal returns of helicopter and human targets using the wavelet transform method incorporated with time-frequency analysis. In order for the extraction of m-D features to be realised, the time domain radar signal is decomposed into a set of components that are represented at different wavelet scales. The components are then reconstructed by applying the inverse wavelet transform. After the separation of m-D features from the target's original radar return, time-frequency analysis is then used to estimate the target's motion parameters. The autocorrelation of the time sequence data is also used to measure motion parameters such as the vibration/rotation rate. The findings show that the results have higher precision after the m-D extraction rather than before it, since only the vibrational/rotational components are employed. This proposed method of m-D extraction has been successfully applied to helicopter and human data.