Target tracking with adaptive sampling intervals using a phased array radar

Abstract

Abstract The phased array antenna can instantaneously direct a radar beam into a desired direction without mechanically moving the antenna. Anticipating an application to a phased array radar, adaptive control of the sampling interval for the tracking object is considered. Reducing the sampling interval for a target with high maneuverability prevents degradation of the tracking accuracy. For a target in straight‐line motion, the sampling interval is increased so that the number of observations is reduced for an efficient operation of radar resources. In this paper, the M 3 (Multiple Maneuver Model) filter is used as one of the tracking algorithms based on the multiple motion model, and a control scheme is proposed with a sampling interval based on the tracking error covariance matrix. By means of simulation, the tracking performance is compared with the case where the sampling interval is fixed. As a result, the tracking accuracy is improved by 15% during a maneuvering motion without increasing radar resources. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electron Comm Jpn Pt 1, 85(10): 44–54, 2002; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/ecja.1130