Results from a forward-looking GPR mine detection system

Abstract

In this paper, we report on the high-resolution ground- penetrating radar system designed, built, and deployed by SRI under contrast to the US Army Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate at Fort Belvoir. This fully polarimetric, 300 to 3000 MHz stepped frequency radar is configured to act as a forward-looking synthetic aperture system with resolution approaching 5 cm. This test bed is being sued in a program to define the optimal radar parameters and supporting image processing needed for the efficient standoff detection of buried and surface-laid antitank mines. This radar has been used to collect surface and buried antitank mine data at the government test sties at Fort AP Hill, Virginia, and very recently at the Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona. Images formed from these dat sets, using different frequency bands and polarizations, will be presented. Preliminary result, including signal-to-clutter ratios for the miens, clutter statistics, and mine probability density functions will be presented.