Demonstration of Simultaneous Localization and Imaging With Multirotor-Borne MiniSAR

This article extends the segmental aperture imaging (SAI) algorithm, which tackles the challenges of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging of miniaturized synthetic aperture radar (MiniSAR) onboard multirotor unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The SAI algorithm is developed based on an accurate phase error model of both translational and rotational motion of UAV. It does require auxiliary positioning data such as global positioning system/inertial navigation system. We further extend it to simultaneously estimate and reconstruct the three-dimensional (3-D) trajectory of UAV from parameters derived from SAI motion compensation. Thus, it in fact accomplishes the simultaneously location and imaging (SLAI) using UAV-borne radar. It is first validated and evaluated via raw signal simulation using realistic trajectory data. For experiment purpose, a multirotor-borne MiniSAR system FUSAR-Ku is developed. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm can achieve decimeter-resolution imaging performance as measured by various metrics, while simultaneously accomplishing centimeter-to-decimeter 3-D self-positioning capability. It is a first demonstration of SLAI mode with a multirotor-borne MiniSAR.