A new method for estimating the motion parameters of a target from its stepped-frequency inverse synthetic aperture radar signature is developed, implemented, and tested. The proposed method uses the phase of the target's echo transfer function to focus the radar image while avoiding Fourier processing. A focal-quality indicator is proposed that yields optimum motion-parameter estimates with the least number of computations. Complex analysis is exploited to measure the slope of the phase more accurately by selecting regions of the target signature with a high signal-to-noise ratio. A weighted-least-squares approach optimizes the estimation process by grading the selected segments and assigning reliability weights. The Cramer-Rao bounds for lower limits on velocity and acceleration estimates are derived in the context of weighted-least-squares complex analysis. The proposed method provides higher accuracy and efficiency than conventional methods.
展开▼
