Radar Sensor Networks: Algorithms for Waveform Design and Diversity with Application to ATR with Delay-Doppler Uncertainty

Automatic target recognition (ATR) in target search phase is very challenging because the target range and mobility are not yet perfectly known, which results in delay-Doppler uncertainty. In this paper, we firstly perform some theoretical studies on radar sensor network (RSN) design based on linear frequency modulation (LFM) waveform: (1) the conditions for waveform coexistence, (2) interferences among waveforms in RSN, (3) waveform diversity in RSN. Then we apply RSN to ATR with delay-Doppler uncertainty and propose maximum-likeihood (ML) ATR algorithms for fluctuating targets and nonfluctuating targets. Simulation results show that our RSN vastly reduces the ATR error compared to a single radar system in ATR with delay-Doppler uncertainty. The proposed waveform design and diversity algorithms can also be applied to active RFID sensor networks and underwater acoustic sensor networks.