Patent attributes
A short range millimeter wave surface imaging radar system. The system includes electronics adapted to produce millimeter wave radiation scanned over a frequency range of a few gigahertz. The scanned millimeter wave radiation is broadcast through a frequency scanned transmit antenna to produce a narrow transmit beam in a first scanned direction (such as the vertical direction) corresponding to the scanned millimeter wave frequencies. The transmit antenna is scanned to transmit beam in a second direction perpendicular to the first scanned direction (such as the horizontal or the azimuthal direction) so as to define a two-dimensional field of view. Reflected millimeter wave radiation is collected in a receive frequency scanned antenna co-located (or approximately co-located) with the transmit antenna and adapted to produce a narrow receive beam approximately co-directed in the same directions as the transmitted beam in approximately the same field of view. Computer processor equipment compares the intensity of the receive millimeter radar signals for a pre-determined set of ranges and known directions of the transmit and receive beams as a function of time to produce a radar image of at least a desired portion of the field of view. In preferred embodiment the invention is mounted on a truck and adapted as a FOD finder system to detect and locate FOD on airport surfaces.
