Software-Defined MIMO Radar Fusion for Structural Health Monitoring Sensor Network

该奖项的研究目标是解决目前限制结构健康监测的重大集成和部署问题，利用创新的多输入多输出雷达为基础的方法。将设计一个软件定义的无线雷达传感器网络，以前所未有的精度监测结构振动和偏转。利用多输入多输出网络，还将实现用于低功耗数据聚合的被动分布式传感。这些影响将体现为雷达传感器网络的新功能，用于强大的结构健康监测。该方法将建立在雷达解决方案的混合融合基础上，由新的硬件和数据处理算法实现。软件的可配置性将是这一努力的驱动力，以彻底改变雷达系统的能力，同时保持紧凑的尺寸。 硬件，软件和信号处理创新将被纳入，以实现一个集成的传感器网络系统，将在实验室和全面的现场部署进行验证。如果成功，这项研究的好处将包括结构健康监测的新方法，在美国老化基础设施的管理的关键问题，以及运输和制造业中监控旋转和往复式机械的方法的进步。 这项研究的桥梁领域的土木工程，微波工程，嵌入式系统，雷达信号处理。通过学生的参与和推广，这个项目的多学科性质将使独特的教育机会，往往是在传统的工程课程失踪。 此外，利用一个国际试验台进行拟议的全面实地试验，有望培养对全球范围内知识进步至关重要的重要合作。

The research objective of this award is to resolve significant integration and deployment problems currently limiting structural health monitoring utilizing an innovative multiple-input multiple-output radar-based approach. A software-defined wireless radar sensor network will be devised to monitor structural vibration and deflection with unprecedented accuracy. Passive distributed sensing for low-power data aggregation will also be achieved taking advantage of the multi-input multi-output network. The impacts will be embodied as new capabilities of radar sensor networks for robust structural health monitoring. The approach will be founded on a hybrid fusion of radar solutions, enabled by novel hardware and data processing algorithms. Software configurability will be a driving force in this effort to revolutionize the capability of radar systems while maintaining a compact size. The hardware, software and signal processing innovations will be incorporated to achieve an integrated sensor network system that will be validated in both the laboratory and in a full-scale field deployment.If successful, the benefits of this research will include novel methods for structural health monitoring, a critical concern for the management of aging infrastructure in the United States, as well as the advancement of approaches to monitoring rotating and reciprocating machinery in transportation and manufacturing industries. This research bridges the fields of civil engineering, microwave engineering, embedded systems, and radar signal processing. Through student involvement and outreach, the multidisciplinary nature of this project will enable unique educational opportunities that are often missing in traditional engineering curriculums. In addition, the utilization of an international test-bed for the proposed full-scale field experiment promises to cultivate important collaborations that are critical to the advancement of knowledge on a global scale.