摘要 |
An imaging radar system (10) comprising a forward-looking millimeter-wave radar system (10) for use in low visibility environments. The imaging radar system (10) comprises an antenna (11), a transceiver (12), a processor (13), and a display system (20). The transceiver (12) comprises a transmitter (14), a frequency reference unit (14a), and an RF receiver (15). The processor (13) comprises an IF receiver (16), an analog-to-digital converter (16a), a signal processor (17), a timing generator (18), input/output circuitry (18a) for interfacing with external systems (23, 24, 25), and a data processor (19). The display system (20) comprises a head-up or head-down display (21) and control circuitry (22). Several external systems (23, 24, 25) are coupled by way of the input/output circuitry (18a) to the data processor (19), including aircraft avionics, inertial reference, and data acquisition systems. Radar returns are amplified and downconverted to a lower intermediate frequency by the RF receiver (15) and downconverted to video frequencies in the IF receiver (16). The returns are sampled and digitized by the analog-to-digital converter (16a) and processed by the signal processor (17) using digital techniques to improve the range and azimuth resolution of the signal and provide corrections for geometry-dependent gain effects. The signal processor (17) transforms the data from range versus azimuth coordinates into azimuth versus elevation coordinates and sends the data to the display system (20) for display. The data processor (19) processes avionics data, inertial reference data, and system control signals from the external systems (23, 24, 25), and determines configuration and timing data for the system, and processing parameters for the signal processor (17). The data acquisition system (25) interacts with the signal and data processors (17, 19) to provide controls for testing and to receive data for storage. The present radar system (10) may be used for landing, takeoff, and taxi applications in low visibility environments.
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