Radar:

The word RADAR is an acronym for Radio Detection and

Ranging.Radar is an active remote sensing system because it
provides its own source of energy. The system illuminates the terrain
with its electromagnetic energy, detects the energy returning from
terrain ,and then record it as an image.
Passive remote sensing system such as photography and thermal IR
,detects the available energy reflected or radiated from the terrain.
Radar system operate independently of lightening conditions and
largely independent of weather.
It operates by transmitting a particular type of waveform and detects
the nature of the echo signal. However, perhaps the most important
attribute of a radar is that it can also measure the distance or range
to an object.
A radar consists of three main parts:
• A transmitting antenna:
The transmitting antenna emits electromagnetic radiation, a portion
of which is reflected back by the target
• A receiving antenna :
. The receiving antenna receives this reflected energy and delivers it
to the receiver.
• An energy detecting device, or a receiver:
The receiver processes this energy to detect the presence of the
target and to extract its location, relative velocity, and other
information. The energy emitted by the radar is usually in the form
of a train of narrow, rectangular-shaped pulses.
Radar signal and its wavelength:
A radar system has a transmitter that emits radio waves called radar
signals in predetermined directions. When these come into contact
with an object they are usually reflected or scattered in many
directions.
The electromagnetic radiation in the visible and infrared portions of
the spectrum primarily by wavelength, microwave portions of the
spectrum are often referenced according to both wavelength and
frequency.
Imaging radar:
Imaging radar is an application of radar which is used to create two-
dimensional images, typically of landscapes. Imaging radar provides
its light to illuminate an area on the ground and take a picture at
radio wavelengths.
It uses an antenna and digital computer storage to record its images.
In a radar image, one can see only the energy that was reflected back
towards the radar antenna. The radar moves along a flight path and
the area illuminated by the radar, or footprint, is moved along the
surface in a swath, building the image as it does so.

Digital Radar Images:

Digital radar images are composed of many dots. Each pixel in the
radar image represents the radar backscatter for that area on the
ground: brighter areas represent high backscatter, darker areas
represents low backscatter.

Working principle:
An imaging radar is a kind of radar equipment which can be used for
imaging. A typical radar technology includes emitting radio waves,
receiving their reflection, and using this information to generate
data.
For an imaging radar, the returning waves are used to create an
image. When the radio waves reflect off objects, this will make some
changes in the radio waves and can provide data about the objects,
including how far the waves travelled and what kind of objects they
encountered. Using the acquired data, a computer can create a 3-D
or 2-D image of the target.
Geometry of radar:
The imaging geometry of a radar system is different from the framing
and scanning systems commonly employed for optical remote
sensing. Similar to optical systems, the platform travels forward in
the flight direction (A) with the nadir (B) directly beneath the
platform.

The microwave beam is transmitted obliquely at right angles to the

direction of flight illuminating a swath (C) which is offset from nadir.
Range (D) refers to the across-track dimension perpendicular to the
flight direction, while azimuth (E) refers to the along-track dimension
parallel to the flight direction. This side-looking viewing geometry is
typical of imaging radar systems (airborne or spaceborne).

The portion of the image swath closest to the nadir track of the radar
platform is called the near range (A) while the portion of the swath
farthest from the nadir is called the far range (B).

Radar image distortion:

As with all remote sensing systems, the viewing geometry of a radar
results in certain geometric distortions on the resultant imagery.
However, there are key differences for radar imagery which are due
to the side-looking viewing geometry, and the fact that the radar is
fundamentally a distance measuring device (i.e. measuring range).
Slant range scale distortion occurs because the radar is measuring
the distance to features in slant-range rather than the true horizontal
distance along the ground. This results in a varying image scale,
moving from near to far range. Although targets A1 and B1 are the
same size on the ground, their apparent dimensions in slant range
(A2 and B2) are different. This causes targets in the near range to
appear compressed relative to the far range. Using trigonometry,
ground-range distance can be calculated from the slant-range
distance and platform altitude to convert to the proper ground-range
format.

This conversion comparison shows a radar image in slant-range

display (top) where the fields and the road in the near range on the
left side of the image are compressed, and the same image
converted to ground-range display (bottom) with the features in
their proper geometric shape.
Techniques of imaging radar:
Real Aperture Radar:
Real aperture radar(RAR) is a form of radar that transmits a narrow
angle beam of pulse radio wave in the range direction at right angles
to the flight direction and receives the backscattering from the
targets which will be transformed to a radar image from the received
signals.
The resolution in the range direction depends on the pulse width.
The resolution in the azimuth direction is identical to the
multiplication of beam width and the distance to a target.

Synthetic-Aperture Radar :
Synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) is a form of radar which moves a real
aperture or antenna through a series of positions along the objects
to provide distinctive long-term coherent-signal variations. This can
be used to obtain higher resolution.
SARs produce a two-dimensional (2-D) image. One dimension in the
image is called range and is a measure of the "line-of-sight" distance
from the radar to the object. Range is determined by measuring the
time from transmission of a pulse to receiving the echo from a
target.

Inverse synthetic aperture radar:

Inverse synthetic aperture radar (ISAR) is another kind of SAR system
which can produce high-resolution on two- and three-dimensional
images.
An ISAR system consists of a stationary radar antenna and a target
scene that is undergoing some motion. ISAR is theoretically
equivalent to SAR in that high-azimuth resolution is achieved via
relative motion between the sensor and object, yet the ISAR moving
target scene is usually made up of non cooperative objects.
APPLICATIONS:
Applications include: surface topography & costal change, land use
monitoring, agricultural monitoring, ice patrol, environmental
monitoring,weather radar- storm monitoring, wind shear warning;
medical microwave tomography; through wall radar imaging, 3-D
measurements, etc.
Through wall radar imaging:
Wall parameter estimation uses Utra Wide-Band radar systems. The
handle M-sequence UWB radar with horn and circular antennas was
used for data gathering and supporting the scanning method.
3-D measurements:
3-D measurements are supplied by amplitude-modulated laser
radars—Erim sensor and Perceptron sensor. In terms of speed and
reliability for median-range operations, 3-D measurements have
superior performance.