IMPROVED METHOD OF MOMENT ESTIMATION AND FEATURE EXTRACTION FOR DEVICES WHICH MEASURE SPECTRA AS A FUNCTION OF RANGE OR TIME

摘要

The computation system of the present invention comprises an improved method of moment estimation for devices which measure spectra as a function of range or time. The preferred embodiment of this system is illustrated as part of an automated meteorological monitoring system for the accurate real time detection of meteorological phenomena, such as winds, wind shear and turbulence. This automated meteorological monitoring system uses a standard weather radar transmitted to scan a predetermined volume of space with a stream of radar pulses to determine the characteristics of meteorological phenomena that are extant in the predetermined volume. The computation of the present invention utilizes novel signal processing algorithms in the improved method of moment estimation to excise the valid data from the return echoes, which are corrupted by the presence of contaminating signals. Separating the valid data from the noise in this manner improves the responsiveness and accuracy of the system in which this method is implemented.