Ground penetrating radar (GPR) systems are increasingly being used for the detection and location of buried objects within the upper regions of the earth’s surface. The antenna is the most critical component of such a system. This thesis presents a comprehensive study of resistor-loaded planar dipole antennas for GPR applications using both theory and experiments. The theoretical analysis is performed using the finite difference time domain (FDTD) technique. The analysis starts with the most popular planar dipole, the bow-tie. A parametric study is done to find out how the flare angle, length, and lumped resistors of the antenna should be selected to achieve broadband properties and good target detection with less clutter. The screening of the antenna and the position of transmitting and receiving antennas with respect to each other and ground surface are also studied. A number of other planar geometrical shapes are considered and compared with the bow-tie in order to find what geometrical shape gives the best performance. The FDTD simulations are carried out for both lossless and lossy, dispersive grounds. Also simulations are carried out including surface roughness and natural clutter like rocks and twigs to make the modeling more realistic. Finally, a pair of resistor-loaded bow-tie antennas is constructed and both indoor and outdoor measurements are carried out to validate the simulation results. / <p>QC 20100923</p>

In this thesis, a maximum likelihood receiver to obtain the target range profile that uses the clutter prediction derived from the target-free previous observations is suggested as a fast time processor for pulse compression radar systems. The maximum likelihood receiver is proposed to overcome the range sidelobe problem, which is introduced by the pulse compression method. Conventional methods, such as the matched filter receiver, as fast time processor result in the targets with high radar cross sec- tion masking the low radar cross section targets at the neighboring range cells / since sidelobes of the matched filter is determined by the autocorrelation of the spreading code and linearly proportional to target signal power. An unbiased estimator, like the maximum likelihood receiver in this thesis work does not su&crarr / er from such issues. In addition to that, to suppress the signal dependent interference, namely the clutter, at the output of fast time processor / the previous target-free observations are col- lected and utilized to predict the clutter signal for next time instant. This prediction is used in the maximum likelihood receiver. The clutter prediction is done for the stationary case and the internal clutter motion case, and their SINR performances with the maximum likelihood receiver are evaluated. In conclusion, such an approach managed to have an unbiased estimation of target range profile and the clutter suppression advantage in the fast time.

This thesis presents a new technique for performing image analysis, synthesis, and modification using a generalized Gaussian model. The joint time-frequency characteristics of a generalized Gaussian are combined with the flexibility of the analysis-by-synthesis (ABS) decomposition technique to form the basis of the model. The good localization properties of the Gaussian make it an appealing basis function for image analysis, while the ABS process provides a more flexible representation with enhanced functionality. ABS was first explored in conjunction with sinusoidal modeling of speech and audio signals [George87]. A 2D extension of the ABS technique is developed here to perform the image decomposition. This model forms the basis for new approaches in image analysis and enhancement. The major contribution is made in the resolution enhancement of images generated using coherent imaging modalities such as Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and ultrasound. The ABS generalized Gaussian model is used to decouple natural image features from the speckle and facilitate independent control over feature characteristics and speckle granularity. This has the beneficial effect of increasing the perceived resolution and reducing the obtrusiveness of the speckle while preserving the edges and the definition of the image features. A consequence of its inherent flexibility, the model does not preclude image processing applications for non-coherent image data. This is illustrated by its application as a feature extraction tool for a FLIR imagery complexity measure.

LOW ALTITUDE RADAR WAVE PROPAGATION MODELLING In this PhD thesis, propagation aspects of low altitude radar performance have been modeled using geometrical optics. Both the path propagation factor and the radar clutter have been modeled. Such models already exist at various complexity levels, such as round earth specular reflection combined with knife edge hill diffraction [SEKE:IEEE,Ap- 34,No:8,1980] and round earth and slant plateau reflection combined with hill diffraction [RADCAL: 1988-2000,EE,METU]. In the proposed model we have considered an extension to RADCAL&rsquo / s model to include convex and concave slant plateaus between hills and depressions (troughs). This propagation model uses a reflection model based on the Geometrical Theory of Reflection for the convex and concave surfaces. Also, back scattering from surface (clutter) is formulated for the new model of the terrain profile. The effects of the features of the terrain profile on the path propagation factor have been investigated. A real terrain data have been smoothed on the basis of the above study. In order to verify the formulation, the Divergence and Convergence Factors associated with the convex and concave plateaus, respectively are inserted into the RADCAL program. The chosen terrains have convex or concave plateaus in the model. The output of the RADCAL is compared with measured values and other propagation algorithms such as Forward-Backward Spectrally Accelerated (FBSA) [FBSA:IEEE Vol.53, No:9,2005] and Parabolic Equation Method [TPEM:IEEE Vol.42,No:1,1994]. Moreover, as the RADCAL Propagation model is based on the ray optics, the results are also compared with another ray optics based propagation model. For this purpose the results of SEKE [Lincoln Lab.] propagation model are used. SEKE model has been used to compute path loss for different types of terrain as a function of receiving antenna height at a fixed distance between transmit and receive antennas. For Beiseker W35 Terrain profile, the results of RADCAL, SEKE and measurements are compared. All results are in good agreement with those of RADCAL.

With the developing radar technology, radars have been started to be used in the airborne platforms due to the need of fast, accurate and reliable information about the enemies. The most important and tactically needed information is the movements in an observation area. The detection of a ground moving target buried in a dense clutter environment from a moving air platform is a very challenging problem even today. The geometry of the operation, the course of the flight and structure of the clutter are the most effective parameters of this problem. There are some &ldquo / Ground Moving Target Indication&rdquo / (GMTI) techniques that have been studied for the last twenty years to overcome this problem. In this thesis, the simulation of some of these techniques in a realistic environment and the comparison of their performances are discussed. In this work, a GMTI simulator is developed to generate the environment containing the clutter and the noise signals, to locate and simulate the targets in this environment and to apply the GMTI techniques on the raw data generated by the simulator. The generation of the clutter signals including the internal clutter motion (ICM) for different types of clutter distributions is one of the most important parts of this thesis. The GMTI techniques being investigated throughout this thesis are &ldquo / Displaced Phase Center Antenna&rdquo / (DPCA), &ldquo / Along-Track Interferometry&rdquo / (ATI), &ldquo / Adaptive DPCA&rdquo / , &ldquo / Pre-Doppler Sigma-Delta STAP&rdquo / and &ldquo / Post-Doppler Sigma-Delta STAP&rdquo / techniques. These techniques are compared according to their clutter suppression and target detection performances under different environmental conditions.

Ground Moving Target Indicator (GMTI) is a well-known and widely used signal processing method in airborne and spaceborne radars. In airborne radar and GMTI literature, many radar designs and signal processing techniques have been developed to increase the detection and estimation performance under heavy interference conditions. The motion of the aircraft on which the radar is mounted, high altitudes and ranges, targets with low radar cross sections and slowly moving targets complicates the problem of localization and observation of moving targets on a huge area of interest. In order to overcome these problems, engineers developed more complex radar hardwares with many receiver channels and signal processing algorithms. Multi-channel receivers provide adaptive digital beam-forming and adaptive Doppler processing capabilities. However, designing a cost efficient and light multi-channel receiver and a signal processing unit, which can handle a huge amount of received data from multi channels, is a difficult task to accomplish. Therefore, this thesis aims to propose non-adaptive antenna beams to reduce the number of channels to two in GMTI processing. This reduction yields a simplification both in receiver structure and signal processing unit. The measure of excellence of these propositions will be the ability to detect slowly moving targets with nearly optimum performance.

The performance of radar detection and imaging systems strongly depends on the characteristics of radar clutter. In order to improve the radar signal processing algorithms, successful analysis and modeling of radar clutter are required. For a successful model of radar clutter, both the spectral and statistical characteristics of the clutter should be revealed. Within the scope of this study, an experimental radar data acquisition system is established to analyze radar clutter. The hardware and the data processing system are first verified using generic signals and then a set of measurements is taken in the open terrain. In this thesis, the limitations and problems encountered during the establishment of the system are explained in detail. The spectral and statistical analyses performed on the recorded data are examined. The temporal and spatial behavior of the measured clutter data are explored. The hypothetical models proposed so far in the literature are tested on the experimental data and the fitting of models to the experimental data is confirmed using various goodness-of-fit tests. Finally, the results of the analyses are interpreted in the light of the radar system parameters and the characteristics of the illuminated terrain.

In a home environment, there are many tasks that a human may need to accomplish. These activities, which range from picking up a telephone to clearing rooms in the house, all have the common trend of fetching. These tasks can only be completed correctly with the consideration of many things including an understanding of what the human wants, recognition of the correct item from the environment, and manipulation and grasping of the object of interest. The focus of this work is on addressing one aspect of this problem, decomposing an image scene such that a task-specific object of interest can be identified. In this work, communication between human and robot is represented using a feedback formalism. This involves the back-and-forth transfer of textual information between the human and the robot such that the robot receives all information necessary to recognize the task-specific object of interest. We name this new communication mechanism Interactive Text Response (ITR), which we believe will provide a novel contribution to the field of Human Robot Interaction. The methodology employed involves capturing a view of the scene that contains an object of interest. Then, the robot makes inquiries based on its current understanding of the scene to disambiguate between objects in the scene. In this work, we discuss development of ITR in human-robot interaction, and understanding of variability, ease of recognition, clutter, and workload needed to develop an interactive robot system.

In this thesis, a method of optimization of nonuniform pulse repetition interval for pulse Doppler radars is investigated. PRI jittering technique is used for the selection of inter-pulse intervals. An environment with white Gaussian noise and clutter interference is defined and applying generalized likelihood ratio test, a sufficient statistic function for the detection of the target is derived. The effect of jitter set selection on range and Doppler ambiguity resolution and clutter rejection is investigated. Jitter sets for Doppler ambiguity resolution are investigated by the minimization of the sufficient statistic function value at other estimated target velocities. Jitter sets for range ambiguity resolution are investigated by minimization of the number of ambigous hits at other estimated ranges. The clutter rejection properties of jitter sets are evaluated by defining a constraint function on zero velocity clutter rejection. The problems stated are solved using MATLAB with genetic algorithms. It is observed that there is a trade off between Doppler ambiguity resolution and clutter rejection properties of jitter sets. Low jitter values are needed for good clutter rejection. The performance of jitter sets are optimized according to range ambiguity resolution and clutter rejection properties by defining cost functions. It is observed that good range ambiguity resolution and clutter rejection can be achieved by an optimized PRI jittering technique. Finally, the effects of quantization of Doppler filter coefficients and target returns using improvement factor as the performance criterion are evaluated.

In this work we study PhD in general transport properties of and quasi particles-energy particles in one-dimensional systems. We study various models and, through different techniques, we obtained a long spectrum of new results. We did a quick study in a ternary d-1 with electronic distribution site built from a stochastic process known by Ornstein-Uhlenbeck (or). Through exact diagonalizacão we calculate the optical absorption spectrum and distribution of spacing between n ´ levels for this ternary model. Overall, we demonstrated that ´ and can control the position of the absorption peaks by regulating the ternary distribution. In a second moment, we present the results obtained for systems with electronic Dynamics coupled to's vibrations. In this sense, we conducted three separate works: at first, we study the dynamics of an electron in a anarmônica in the presence of electron-interaction network. This anarmônica network was built using the formalism of Fermi-Pasta-Ulam with cubic potential. We made also use of the tight-binding approach to treat the electronic transport, and a classical formalism to describe the longitudinal vibrations. In our studies, electron-interaction network was considered such that the integral of transfer between the neighboring atoms ´ is dependent on the effective distance between neighboring atoms ´ (SuSchrieffer-approach model J. Heeger SSH). Our results suggest a kind of solitônico mode control on electronic Dynamics along the nonlinear network adopted. And, therefore, a kind of State electron moving soliton along the chain. This apparent mobility of electron pair-soliton shown with seemingly constant speed and can be a crucial ingredient in the transport of loads in non-linear chains. In our second approach we investigate the dynamics of electronic State moving in a DNA chain containing N bases, in what we consider beyond the DNA intrinsic disorder distribution, the effect of the vibrations of the DNA. Again, the term electron network was considered such that the electronic hopping energy could depend on the effective distance between the nearest DNA bases. The main results obtained show that the electron-Phonon coupling can transpose the location of Anderson, promoting the emergence of a dynamic sub-difusiva to long. In our work, verificamos also played the role of Atomic coupling type (for 1st gear one cas ˆ nicas, cu ´ Bamford or interac ¸ ' Morse type) within the context of electronic transport in the presence of electron-Phonon coupling. Another point which we investigated was the interaction with acoustic waves pumped throughout the network (an simplificada way to consider acu waves ´ sticas ´ also surface in calls from SAW or Surface Acoustic Waves). In a context we conducted a research on the magnetic dynamics of a magnon in Heisenberg ferromagnetic systems in presence of interactions magnon-fo non ˆ. Our results show that the propagation of spin wave follows a super-difusivo scheme for all values of intensity of magnon-coupling network considered. / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Neste trabalho de doutorado estudamos em linhas gerais propriedades de transporte de energia, partículas e quasi-partículas em sistemas unidimensionais. Estudamos diversos modelos e, através de técnicas distintas, obtivemos um longo espectro de novos resultados. Fizemos um rápido estudo em uma cadeia eletrônica ternária 1-d com distribuição on-site construída a partir de um processo estocástico conhecido por Ornstein-Uhlenbeck (OU). Através de diagonalizacão exata calculamos o espectro de absorção ótica e a distribuição de espaçamentos entre n´níveis para este modelo ternário. De modo geral, demonstramos que ´e possível controlar a posição dos picos de absorção regulando a distribuição ternária. Em um segundo momento, apresentamos os resultados obtidos para sistemas com a dinâmica eletrônica acoplada a`s vibrações da rede. Neste sentido, realizamos três trabalhos distintos: a princípio, estudamos a dinâmica de um elétron em uma cadeia anarmônica na presença da interação elétron-rede. Esta rede anarmônica foi construída utilizando o formalismo de Fermi-Pasta-Ulam com o potencial cúbico. Fizemos uso também da aproximação tight-binding para tratar o transporte eletrônico, e um formalismo clássico para descrever as vibrações longitudinais. Em nossos estudos, a interação elétron-rede foi considerada de tal forma que a integral de transferência entre os ´átomos vizinhos seja dependente da distância efetiva entre os ´átomos vizinhos (modelo de aproximação SuSchrieffer-Heeger SSH). Nossos resultados sugerem um tipo de controle do modo solitônico sobre a dinâmica eletrônica ao longo da rede não-linear adotada. Indicando, portanto, um tipo de estado elétron-sóliton se movendo ao longo da cadeia. Esta aparente mobilidade do par elétron-sóliton se mostra com velocidade aparentemente constante e pode ser um ingrediente crucial no transporte de cargas em cadeias não-lineares. Em nossa segunda abordagem investigamos a dinâmica de um estado eletrônico se movendo em uma cadeia de DNA contendo N bases, em que consideramos além da distribuição de desordem DNA intrínseca, o efeito das vibrações do DNA. Novamente, o termo elétron-rede foi considerado de tal forma que a energia de hopping eletrônica pudesse depender da distância efetiva entre as bases mais próximas do DNA. Os principais resultados obtidos revelam que o acoplamento elétron-fônon pode transpor a localização de Anderson, promovendo o aparecimento de uma dinâmica sub-difusiva para tempos longos. Em nosso trabalho, verificamos também o papel do tipo de acoplamento atômico (for¸cas harmoˆnicas, cu´bicas ou interac¸˜ao tipo Morse) dentro do contexto do transporte eletrônico na presença de acoplamento elétron-fônon. Outro ponto que investigamos foi a interação com ondas acústicas bombeadas ao longo da rede (uma maneira simplificada de considerar ondas acu´sticas de superfície tamb´em chamadas de SAW ou Surface Acoustic Waves). Em um contexto magnético realizamos uma investigacão sobre a dinâmica de um magnon em sistemas ferromagnéticos de Heisenberg na presença de interações magnon-foˆnon. Nossos resultados apontam que a propagação da onda de spin segue um regime super-difusivo para todos os valores de intensidade de acoplamento magnon-rede considerados.