Date of Award

3-22-2019

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Electrical Engineering

Department

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

First Advisor

Richard K. Martin, PhD

Abstract

The lack of situational awareness within an operational environment is a problem that carries high risk and expensive consequences. Radio Tomographic Imaging (RTI) and noise radar are two proven technologies capable of through-wall imaging and foliage penetration. The intent of this thesis is to provide a proof of concept for the fusion of data from RTI and noise radar. The output of this thesis will consist of a performance comparison between the two technologies followed by the derivation of a fusion technique to produce a single image. Proposals have been made for the integration of multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) radar with RTI, however, no research has been done. Data fusion between RTI and noise radar has not been explored in academia. The impact of the expected results will provide the RTI and noise radar community a proof of concept for the fusion of data from two disparate sensor technologies. RTI is a tenured field of study at Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT), whose results can be used to produce a platform for further options to be considered for military surveillance applications. The novelty of fusing data from RTI and noise radar is achieved with the derivation of a fusion technique utilizing Tikhonov regularization. Analyzing the results of the Tikhonov influenced techniques reveals up to a 100% error decrease in target pixel location, a 75% error decrease in target centroid location, a 28% size decrease in target pixel dispersion and a 72% improvement in an ideal solution comparison. The results of the research prove that Multi-Sensor Data Fusion (MSDF) images are of greater quality than that of the images generated by the disparate sensors independently. This effectively provides the RTI and noise radar communities a proof of concept for the fusion of data from two disparate sensor technologies.

AFIT Designator

AFIT-ENG-MS-19-M-064

DTIC Accession Number

AD1076589

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