NON-CONTACT RADAR SYSTEM FOR RECONSTRUCTION OF SCENES OBSCURED UNDER SNOW AND SIMILAR MATERIAL

摘要

A system and method for imaging objects obscured by a covering layer of snow. The system preferably utilizes a continuous-wave radar generating short­wavelength radio-frequency (RF) signal beam scanned over angular displacements following a scanning pattern toward a target area. Reflections of the RF signal from objects buried beneath the snow are registered by an array of RF detectors whose signal magnitudes are summed and correlated with scan direction to generate a signal providing spatial object information, which by way of example, is visually displayed. The radio-frequency beam may be scanned over the scene electronically, or by either mechanically or electromechanically modulating antenna direction or the orientation of a beam deflector. The system is capable of generating multiple image frames per second, high-resolution imaging, registration of objects to a depth exceeding two meters, and can be implemented at low cost without complex signal processing hardware.