Search radar detection and track with the Hough transform. I. system concept

A method of viewing search radar signals and data is described and analyzed in which the image processing technique of the Hough transform is used to extract detections and simultaneous tracks from multi-dimensional data maps. System design concepts are considered and simulation examples are given that illustrate the concept. The technique offers many advantages when compared with more traditional techniques. These advantages include improved detection, a solution to the range walk problem, flexibility of implementation, elimination of slow scan-rate latency and automatic track acquisition without revisit. The concept is similar to track-before-detect algorithms that use preliminary information from previous scans to aid in target declarations