Estimation of Flight Path Deviations for SAR Radar Installed on UAV

What is it about?

Synthetic Aperture Radars (SAR) enable synthesis of high-resolution terrain images on the basis of radar signals transmitted and received from a moving platform (aircraft, UAV, satellite). This paper addresses the system installed on a mini UAV. For simplicity of image synthesis, the platform should move with a constant velocity and follow a straight flight path. In the case of a mini-UAV, due to its small size, weight and velocity, maintaining the rectilinear trajectory, in the unstable atmosphere, is not possible. To compensate for these effects, the flight path deviations from an assumed straight line should be estimated and position corrections should be used to correct the phase of the received echo signal in order to get a focused SAR images. The paper describes a high-accuracy navigation system elaborated by the authors to estimate such corrections and presents effects of its use on SAR images.

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