Software-defined ground penetrating chirp radar

Mirel Paun

doi:10.1117/12.2570387

31 December 2020 Software-defined ground penetrating chirp radar

Mirel Paun

Proceedings Volume 11718, Advanced Topics in Optoelectronics, Microelectronics and Nanotechnologies X; 117180D (2020) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2570387
Event: Advanced Topics in Optoelectronics, Microelectronics and Nanotechnologies 2020, 2020, Online Only

Abstract

This paper presents a practical implementation for low-cost, software-defined Ground Penetrating Radar. The proposed system uses solely a general purpose low-cost SDR platform, two antennas and a PC. The main advantage of this implementation compared to similar implementations in the literature is the absence of external components/circuits or custom-built RF boards. The SDR platform is USRP N200 equipped with WBX RF daughterboard. The only external additions are two Vivaldi antennas. The system implements chirp radar operation with a bandwidth of 40 MHz achieving a theoretical resolution of 375 cm in air. Because of the reduction of electromagnetic wave velocity in soil, the resolution improves significantly in practical situations where the wave travels through a high permittivity medium. The resulting system is capable to successfully discover large subterranean voids like caves or tunnels. The paper presents an experimental validation where the proposed system is employed to detect the presence of a tunnel.

Citation Download Citation

Mirel Paun "Software-defined ground penetrating chirp radar", Proc. SPIE 11718, Advanced Topics in Optoelectronics, Microelectronics and Nanotechnologies X, 117180D (31 December 2020); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2570387

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