(IVAR) - Final Report - Strategic Environmental Research and ...
(IVAR) - Final Report - Strategic Environmental Research and ...
(IVAR) - Final Report - Strategic Environmental Research and ...
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acquired <strong>and</strong> is testing JRC S-b<strong>and</strong> <strong>and</strong> X-b<strong>and</strong> radars, <strong>and</strong> KH S-b<strong>and</strong> <strong>and</strong> X-b<strong>and</strong> radars.<br />
Although GMI has deployed MARS® radars for some time in Scotl<strong>and</strong> <strong>and</strong> DeTect has multiple<br />
radars deployed at military <strong>and</strong> commercial airports worldwide, no detailed data are available<br />
from these deployments.<br />
Antenna Type <strong>and</strong> Configuration – There are two general antenna types used on avian radar<br />
systems: a parabolic dish <strong>and</strong> a slotted-array. The eBirdRad system used in the <strong>IVAR</strong> project<br />
was outfitted with a 4° parabolic dish antenna. The ARTI radars deployed by CEAT were<br />
equipped with either a 4° parabolic dish manufactured by ARTI or a nominal 20° (vertical) by<br />
1.2° (horizontal) st<strong>and</strong>ard Furuno slotted-array antenna. DeTect, GMI, <strong>and</strong> TNO systems<br />
typically use st<strong>and</strong>ard COTS slotted array marine radar antennas. The Robin FMCW uses a<br />
specialized antenna configured from two Furuno slotted array antennas.<br />
Slotted array antennas can be mounted in a horizontally-spinning configuration or rotated 90° in<br />
a vertically-spinning configuration. Dish antennas spin horizontally, but can be titled up to a<br />
desired angle between 0° <strong>and</strong> 90° above the horizon.<br />
Digital Processing – The COTS transceivers used in avian radars produce an analog signal that<br />
must be converted to a digital signal for further processing. The avian radar manufacturers use a<br />
combination of COTS <strong>and</strong> proprietary radar interfaces <strong>and</strong> digitizing technologies. Digital<br />
processing includes a variety of specialized algorithms including video processing, clutter<br />
suppression, detection, <strong>and</strong> tracking. These functions <strong>and</strong> their algorithms are proprietary to<br />
avian radar manufacturers, differ considerably, <strong>and</strong> represent the system logic that extracts <strong>and</strong><br />
separates bird targets from other targets detected by the radar. They provide a key basis for the<br />
comparison of the performance of avian radars.<br />
This processing is performed in a radar digital processing system (RDPS; the “DRP” of the ARTI<br />
systems discussed above) that is unique to each manufacturer. It is in the RDPS that the<br />
intellectual property of the manufacturers is most evident. Data output from the RDPS will be<br />
some form of automatically generated target information including position, velocity, <strong>and</strong><br />
intensity/radar cross-section (RCS) information, depending on the avian radar <strong>and</strong> the antenna(s)<br />
used.<br />
While detection <strong>and</strong> track generation should be the focus for comparisons among avian radar<br />
systems, it is not possible at this time because of proprietary commercial interests.<br />
Data Display – There is a general uniformity to the format of radar displays generated from a<br />
horizontally-spinning radar antenna. The plan view or st<strong>and</strong>ard radar plan position indicator (PPI)<br />
display is usually provided in either radar coordinates (i.e., a polar reference), earth coordinates, or<br />
both. Digital processing supports the translation from polar to geographic coordinate systems<br />
allowing the display to show the radar output superimposed on maps or aerial photographs of the<br />
area of coverage. Display layers differ from manufacturer to manufacturer <strong>and</strong> can include input<br />
video, clutter-filtered video, echo trails mode, detections, <strong>and</strong> tracks, along with an underlying<br />
map <strong>and</strong> a variety of symbolic <strong>and</strong> marker overlays.<br />
Data Management – Data management in avian radar systems includes management of the<br />
digitized, analog video signal (“video data”) received from the radar sensor, <strong>and</strong> management of<br />
the processed target data generated as continuously storable output by the RDPS. In general, the<br />
video data is voluminous <strong>and</strong> complete archives of video data are problematic. All systems have<br />
the capability of recording video data of some form, at least for short durations. Radar video<br />
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