Geometric detection based on one-dimensional laser
range profiles of dynamic conical target
Yuan Mou,* Zhen-sen Wu, Zheng-jun Li, and Geng Zhang
School of Physics and Optoelectronic Engineering, Xidian University, Xi’an 710071, China
*Corresponding author: wuzhs@mail.xidian.edu.cn
Received 22 July 2014; revised 16 October 2014; accepted 28 October 2014;
posted 31 October 2014 (Doc. ID 217584); published 10 December 2014
One-dimensional laser range profiles (LRPs) contain abundant information regarding the shape, size,
and attitude of detected objects. For a dynamic conical target, the variation of its size and attitude could
have a significant effect on the projections of LRP peaks. Ground coordinates, target coordinates, and
incident field coordinates are established to compute the LRP of dynamic cones. In order to inverse
the size, a genetic algorithm is adopted. The cone heights and half-cone angles of three different cones
are inversed. Moreover, the results are used to inverse the attitude angles at any sampling time in order
to verify accuracy of the theory. The inversion mentioned in this paper can be applied in any targets of
arbitrary material, shape, and attitude with great efficiency. © 2014 Optical Society of America
OCIS codes: (190.0190) Nonlinear optics; (100.2960) Image analysis.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1364/AO.53.008335
1. Introduction
Laser range profiles (LRPs) are among the most im-
portant methods for target detection in the optical
band. Normally, radar always records electromag-
netic pulse echoes, especially the amplitude and
phase. The LRP is essentially the amplitude distri-
bution of the echoes along the range axis, so that the
LRP has an inextricable relationship with the radial
structure of the detected targets [
1]. Subsequently,
the target’s shape, size, and attitude are all possibly
inversed from the radar echoes. More precisely, the
LRP establishes the applic ation in the field of target
detection and future intelligent weapons [
2].
In the field of existing radar target identification
(RTID), the range profiles based on the concept of
scattering centers are widely used to identify un-
known targets and extract their parameters of size,
micromotion, and shape [
3,4]. Meanwhile, lack of in-
vestigation of scattering mechanisms always leads
the algorithm into an inevitable impasse. Numerous
high-resolution range profiles (HRRP) libraries,
which contain different parameters of material,
size, and shape have been prepared in order to com-
plete the classification and matching progress. Even
though it still has a great challenge to identify arbi-
trary targets in different conditions and attitudes,
there is no library that could describe each HRRP
feature in arbitrary condition [
5,6].
The theoretical modeling of laser range profiles is
quite different from the HRRP in a microwave, and
the joint of electromagnetic theory basically delivers
the possibility to inverse the structure of targets [
7].
Thus, the development of scattering theory cannot
be ignored due to its foundation function. In 1993,
Smith used the physical optics to simulate 1D range
profiles of a Lockheed SR-71, and the results coinci-
dently counterpart with the method of scattering
centers [
8]. While the concept of the bidirectional re-
flectance distribution function (BRDF) [
9], which was
proposed by Nicodemus in 1965, provided further
hope to compute the scattering cross section. In fact,
BRDF has been successfully used in the laser
scattering theory of rough surfaces [
10,11]. Besides,
Steinvall evaluated the mean laser radar cross
section and detailed pulse stretching relative to
the shapes of the target and the BRDF angular
1559-128X/14/358335-07$15.00/0
© 2014 Optical Society of America
10 December 2014 / Vol. 53, No. 35 / APPLIED OPTICS 8335