Moving target emulators for ultra wide band signals: Electrically modulated fragmented surfaces

MTI radar systems and signal processing algorithms may be made more efficient if a wide range of perfect and background distorted Doppler signatures could be made available to test system hardware and algorithms. This paper addresses emulators of moving vehicle Doppler signatures. Measured Doppler spectra of tracked and wheeled vehicles are used to guide the development of moving target emulators made from ldquoswitchablerdquo reflectivity panels. The geometry of the panels are electrically percolating surfaces The percolating patterns provide 10:1 bandwidths and thus satisfy UWB criteria for frequency response and they use minimal modulating elements. A potential problem is the number of modulating elements on a panel that are required to synthesize the complex Doppler waveform measured on a ground vehicle.