I-Corps: Remote sensing technology

I-Corps项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力是无扫描雷达(无线电探测和测距)技术的潜在发展。这种无扫描传感器有可能整合大范围的区域，执行更快的扫描，在跟踪过程中(特别是在近场)更长时间地聚焦于对象，并使用多频率系统成像，而不需要移动系统。将多个频率结合在一起的能力对于在不影响高分辨率的情况下保持在退化环境中成像的能力是有用的。这项创新有望成为一种可能的平台技术，并可以为包括自动驾驶汽车和农村地区医疗设备在内的市场提供增强的传感能力。这个i-Corps项目基于一种新的遥感技术的开发，该技术利用了雷达(无线电检测和测距)和LIDAR(光检测和测距)的优点。它提供了一种技术，可以在不需要移动平台的情况下以与当前最先进的雷达技术相当的分辨率提供广泛的视野。目前高分辨率成像的解决方案包括数字波束形成和激光雷达。虽然数字波束成形可以产生高分辨率的扫描，但它需要多个脉冲来扫描整个场景。数字波束成形需要对感兴趣的场景进行多次扫描，因为必须使用窄定向波束来获得更高的分辨率。由于在数字波束形成的信号处理中做出了某些假设，数字波束形成在雷达附近(即近场)存在盲点。激光雷达使用光波而不是无线电波，由于其波长较小，可以提供高分辨率；然而，这些小波长不像无线电波那样在环境中传播，因此在雨和雾等大气条件下表现不佳。这项拟议的技术旨在潜在地同时处理任何波长的波，并为整合从不同类型的传感器(例如雷达、激光雷达和声纳)获得的数据提供了所需的解决方案。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the potential development of a scanless RADAR (RAdio Detection And Ranging) technology. This scanless sensor has the potential to possibly integrate large areas, perform faster scanning, focus on objects longer during tracking (especially in the near field), and image with a multi-frequency system without the need for a moving system. The ability to have multiple frequencies incorporated could be useful to maintain the ability to image in degraded environments without compromising high resolution. This innovation is expected to serve as a possible platform technology and could provide enhanced sensing capabilities for markets including autonomous vehicles, and medical devices for rural areas.This I-Corps project is based on the development of a novel remote sensing technique that leverages the benefits of both RADAR (RAdio Detection And Ranging) and LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging). It provides a technology that could provide a wide field of view, without the need for a moving platform, at comparable resolutions to the current most advanced RADAR techniques. Current solutions for high-resolution imaging include digital beamforming and LIDAR. While digital beamforming can yield high-resolution scans, it requires multiple pulses to scan an entire scene. Multiple sweeps of the scene of interest are required for digital beamforming as narrow directed beams must be used to get enhanced resolution. Digital beamforming contains a blind spot close to the RADAR (i.e., in the near field) due to certain assumptions that are made in its signal processing. LIDAR, which uses light waves instead of radio waves, delivers high resolution due to its small wavelength; however, these small wavelengths do not propagate through environments as well as radio waves and thus perform poorly in atmospheric conditions such as rain and fog. The proposed technology seeks to potentially process waves of any wavelength simultaneously and presents a needed solution for the integration of data obtained from different sensor types (e.g., RADAR, LIDAR, and SONAR).This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.