SBIR-STTR Award

This proposal addresses "Target Characterization in its natural environment including the electromagnetic effects of the sensors and other near field couplings". The objective is to develop an electromagnetic modeling software code that can simultaneously handle analysis of the target, its environment and the sensors used to sense the environment along with the platform effects on which they are mounted. Our approach will be to generate the true impulse response of the targets thereby making identification much easier as it will strip off the various environmental distortions.

Benefits:
The proposed effort is crucial to the development of an electromagnetic modeling capability that can simultaneously address scattering from the target along with the environment and including all the sensor effects. Current modeling technology pushes the processing capacity of modern computers to their limit, and innovations such as the one proposed here will be necessary to fully utilize electromagnetic modeling as a design tool.

The objective is to develop an electromagnetic modeling software code that can simultaneously handle analysis of the target, its environment and the sensors used to sense the environment along with the platform effects on which they are mounted. Our approach will be to generate the true impulse response of the targets thereby making identification much easier as it will strip off the various environmental distortions. Accurate modeling and simulation of the numerous effects present in a sensor configuration will support growth in the knowledge and understanding of the physical effects which contribute to the sensor response, when the target is not present. In addition to platform effects and sensor interactions, are effects due to the environment of the target. Clutter and ground bounce contribute to target returns and can make the discernment of the target signature more challenging. Signal processing methods typically assume that received response is from far-field targets in stochastic clutter environments. In reality, the sensor response can contain a significant portion of the near-field and deterministic undesired responses from the transmitter itself. Reflections from ground, mountains or building structures may contribute target response in multiple range cells which are not stochastic. Quantifying the impulse response of the sensor system to the ambient environment of the target will include these deterministic effects.

Benefit:
The proposed capability will benefit the DoD in many areas beyond target identification, which is the initial goal of this solicitation. This tool will help researchers in the solution of very large matrix equations which cannot be done by reasonable computational resources. This work will provide support to Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin who are interested in designing electrically large electromagnetic components associated with the E-2 systems. Another major market for this capability is the commercial wireless sector. This internationally growing market deals with electromagnetic scattering problems very similar to those addressed in the proposed military application, specifically in the optimization and location of urban systems. Wireless communications could provide a more cost-effective capability if system parameters and system locations could be selected that would improve the ability to operate in the severe multipath environment of large cities.

Keywords:
Parallel Solvers, Impulse Response, Target Identification and Characterization, Integral Equations, Complex Sensor Environment