Simulation and Analysis of a Dynamic Calibration Target for Through-Wall and Through-Rubble Motion Sensing Doppler Radar

Published

December 3, 2021

Author(s)

Ram Narayanan, Michael Harner, John Jendzurski, Nicholas G. Paulter Jr.

Abstract

Through-wall and through-barrier motion sensing systems are becoming increasingly important tools to locate humans concealed behind barriers and under rubble. The sensing performance of these systems is best determined with appropriately-designed calibration targets, which are ones that can emulate human motion. The effectiveness of various dynamic calibration targets that emulate human respiration, heart rate, and other body motions are analyzed. Moreover, these targets should be amenable to field deployment and not manifest angular or orientation dependences. The three targets examined in this thesis possess spherical polyhedral geometries. Spherical geometries were selected due to their isotropic radar cross section characteristics, which provides for consistent radar returns independent of orientation of the radar transceiver relative to the test target. The aspect-independence of a sphere allows for a more accurate and repeatable calibration of a radar than using a nonspherical calibration artifact. In addition, the radar cross section (RCS) for scattering spheres is well-known and can be calculated using far field approximations. For Doppler radar testing, it is desired to apply these calibration advantages to a dynamically expanding-and-contracting sphere-like device that can emulate motions of the human body. Monostatic RCS simulations at 3.6 GHz are documented for each geometry. The results provide a visual way of representing the effectiveness of each design as a dynamic calibration target for human detection purposes.

Citation

Journal of Research of the National Institute of Standards and Technology

Pub Type

Journals

Download Paper

Local Download

Keywords

Doppler radar, heartbeat, human respiration, monostatic radar, radar calibration target, radar cross section, through-rubble radar, through-wall radar

Citation

Narayanan, R. , Harner, M. , Jendzurski, J. and Paulter Jr., N. (2021), Simulation and Analysis of a Dynamic Calibration Target for Through-Wall and Through-Rubble Motion Sensing Doppler Radar, Journal of Research of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=930567 (Accessed November 21, 2025)