Two-Sensor Synthetic Aperture Geolocation Techniques
Abstract
Geolocation technology with the ability to locate an unknown beacon signal in three-dimensional space has been engrafted into numerous modern electronic systems. Indeed, the marketplace is anxious for more accurate and more accessible geolocation data. A primary limiting factor of the growth of geolocation systems is the stringent physical resource requirements needed for existing geolocation algorithms. Popular geolocation algorithms measure the time-of-arrival, time-difference-of-arrival, and frequency-difference-of-arrival of an incoming beacon signal from an unknown emitter at a given time. For these techniques, accurate solutions require a minimum of three airborne sensors; if available, a fourth sensor often significantly improves the accuracy. This resource requirement is excessive; we aim to relax it to two airborne sensors by applying a synthetic aperture technique. By fusing together data from multiple subsequent time samples, one can boost the overall resolution of the geolocation estimate. We propose using a series of geolocation measurements collected between two sensors according to a synthetic aperture model. System performance dependence on sensor velocity and aperture size is assessed. Additionally, a brief treatment of noise tolerance and estimation theory is given. Lastly, the overall feasibility of a synthetic aperture-based geolocation algorithm is summarily addressed.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 2014
- Accession Number
- AD1127224
Entities
People
- Kyle A. Elam
Organizations
- Naval Postgraduate School