Abstract:
Nano-drones of the size of an insect can be used to perform stealthy
surveillance or to gather intelligence crucial to attack roles at a relatively short
range and within enclosed spaces and buildings. Conventional radar systems
have been optimised to detect and classify bigger targets and are not
specifically designed to detect nano-targets of less than 5 cm in size. Hence,
this project aims to develop a radar system to detect and classify an insect-like
size drone that corresponds to a low RCS. This will exhibit challenges due to
the nature of the weak echoed signal that will be masked by an uninterested
target with a stronger echoed signal. To tackle this sort of problem, micro Doppler extraction is applied for better target detection. This type of target that
consists of a bladed propeller will give rise to a significant micro-Doppler
signature that will contribute to the discernment of the interested target.
An ad-hoc S-band FMCW radar prototype using off-the-shelf components An ad-hoc S-band FMCW radar prototype using off-the-shelf components has
been successfully delivered. This prototype act as a groundwork for the next
research phase of design and development for a higher frequency. Then, with
the strong foundation of the S-band demonstrator, a flexible K-band FMCW
radar prototype has successfully delivered aiming to meet the research
purpose. The radar prototype offers a wide range of flexibility for the user to
select the radar parameters (like operating frequency, ramp duration, bandwidth
and integration time) and configure its performance. It will collect the signatures
of real targets (nano-drone model) so that their performance can be assessed
on experimental data. The results demonstrated that a nano-drone, a small size
of less than 5 cm can be detected with the radar prototype developed.
