Through-the-Wall Radar Simulations for Complex Room Imaging

Abstract : This report demonstrates the application of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) techniques on imaging a complex room containing realistic features, such as doors, windows, interior walls, furniture objects, and humans. We analyze the changes in the radar phenomenology as we consider various aspect angles and polarizations. The scenarios investigated here correspond to either ground-based or airborne radar systems. Enhancements in the radar images can be obtained by combining images from different aspect angles. We demonstrate the advantages of using cross-polarization for detecting human targets. We also emphasize the importance of multipath propagation effects in interpreting radar images. All the numerical examples are based on radar data obtained through computer simulation of the electromagnetic (EM) scattering problems using either the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method or Xpatch. The accuracy of the EM modeling methods is evaluated by comparing the images based on FDTD and Xpatch simulations.