Experimental Analysis of Small Drone Polarimetry Based on Micro-Doppler Signature

Abstract

We present a polarimetric analysis of small drones from different aspect angles. Polarimetric analysis can provide more information of a target, since the returned radar signal is affected by different wave polarization. The analysis is performed with micro-Doppler signature (MDS) to investigate micromotions of the drone detected by the radar. We measured operating small drones in an anechoic chamber from two aspect angles, 0 degrees and 90 degrees. An outdoor experiment was carried out with metal clutters for verification in real environment. The indoor analysis result shows that copolarized antenna receives signals better than cross polarized when the aspect angle is 0 degrees, and vice versa. We also verified that cross-polarized antenna receives MDS from the drone better than copolarized antenna, from outdoors when an aspect angle is almost 90 degrees. By utilizing the polarimetric characteristic of the drone at this frequency band, it is preferable to use a polarimetric radar for drone detection.