Three-dimensional electromagnetic-model-based absolute attitude measurement using monostatic wideband radar

This paper proposes an absolute attitude measurement approach by utilizing a monostatic wideband radar. In this approach, the three-dimensional electromagnetic-model (3-D em-model) and the parametric motion model of a target are combined to estimate absolute attitude. The 3-D em-model is established offline based on the target’s geometric structure. Scattering characteristics such as radar cross section and radar images from one-dimension to 3-D can be conveniently predicted by this model. By matching the high-resolution range profiles (HRRPs) of measurements with the HRRPs predicted by the 3-D em-model, the directions of the lines of sight relative to the target at different measuring times are first obtained. Then, based on the obtained directions and the parametric motion model of the target, the target absolute attitude at each measuring time can be acquired. Experiments using both data predicted by a high-frequency em-code and data measured in an anechoic chamber verify the validity of the proposed method.