Earth Remote Sensing with Signals of Opportunity

2012 ~ Present

Earth Remote Sensing with Signals of Opportunity

Goals

Conduct field experiments to collect P-band (137-400 MHz) satellite signals and evaluate their qualities for use in Earth remote sensing.

Issues Involved or Addressed

We wish to determine if communication satellite transmissions can be used as "signals of opportunity", sources of illumination in a bistatic radar configuration. Two key unknowns are the "ambiguity function", which represents our ability to identify the time of arrival of a signal, and the signal to noise ratio. Starting with published information about the expected performance of these satellite transmissions, you will use antennas designed by a previous VIP team to make direct measurements of the satellite signals and compute the ambiguity function to compare with a theoretical model

Methods and Technologies

  • Antenna design
  • Software Defined Radio
  • Link Budgets
  • Cross-correlation
  • Spectrum analyzer
  • Signal generator

Academic Majors of Interest

  • Electrical and Computer Engineering
  • Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering

Preferred Interests and Preparation

Good programming experience: C, MATLAB
Embedded programming: VHDL would be a plus
Experience with/intersting in buidling hardware

Team Advisors

Prof. James Garrison

Sponsor(s)