Multiple UAV tomography based geolocation of RF emitters

Deborah Walter; Jon Klein; James Kaupert; Clifton Bullmaster; Vasu Chakravarthy

doi:10.1117/12.850168

28 April 2010 Multiple UAV tomography based geolocation of RF emitters

Deborah Walter, Jon Klein, James Kaupert, Clifton Bullmaster, Vasu Chakravarthy

Proceedings Volume 7707, Defense Transformation and Net-Centric Systems 2010; 77070B (2010) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.850168
Event: SPIE Defense, Security, and Sensing, 2010, Orlando, Florida, United States

Abstract

Various methods for discovering the location of radio frequency (RF) emitters using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have been the focus of research over the past several years. Our work is aimed at determining the effectiveness of lowaccuracy direction finding (DF) technology to locate RF emissions using multiple UAVs. Small, commercial-off-theshelf (COTS) antenna systems can provide a rough estimate of an emitter's location within a 90 degree or 45 degree sector. Using these DF systems, a team of inexpensive UAVs can be deployed to collect low-accuracy data from multiple positions. A ground station would combine the information. In contrast to typical angle-of-arrival (AOA) methods, this unique technique does not require precise antenna arrays, complex hardware, or significant processing time to locate RF emissions. We present simulation results that show that accurate geolocation of emitters is possible with DF systems using only low accuracy (90-20 degrees) Angle of Arrival (AOA) information.

Citation Download Citation

Deborah Walter, Jon Klein, James Kaupert, Clifton Bullmaster, and Vasu Chakravarthy "Multiple UAV tomography based geolocation of RF emitters", Proc. SPIE 7707, Defense Transformation and Net-Centric Systems 2010, 77070B (28 April 2010); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.850168

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