Revolutionary radar signal processing

Radar systems have undergone many technological improvements in apertures (antennas) and associated hardware and software since the inception of operational versions during World War II. However, what hasn’t changed significantly over the decades is that radars still use linear signal processing between the aperture and the detector.

In the 1940s, linear radar signal processing used vacuum tubes and analog circuitry, while today’s radars perform linear signal processing digitally using microchips and software.

With the Beyond Linear Processing (BLiP) program, DARPA’s goal is to improve radar performance by applying innovative signal processing techniques. BLiP will use high-performance computing to explore new, non-linear and iterative signal processing techniques that could lead to lighter, smaller and less expensive – but equally capable – radar systems. If successful, BLiP will deliver the same radar performance achieved today on large platforms on much smaller sea, air and land platforms.

“Many radar improvements over the past 30 years have focused on increasing the aperture size to increase sensitivity or increase transmitter power,” said Frank Robey, BLiP program manager in DARPA’s Strategic Technologies Division.

“This is important, but if we want to reduce the size of the aperture by 50% and still get the same radar performance, then we need to break the paradigm of linear signal processing. With the enormous increase in computer processing power available today, we can take a new look at radar signal processing and explore iterative methods of anticipation.”

BLiP will address the current immaturity of non-linear and iterative signal processing techniques. Over the course of the two-year program, end-to-end radar signal processing chains will be developed, analyzed, implemented, and tested—initially through non-real-time laboratory testing, and ending with real-time implementation and full-scale field testing. testing using the National Weather Service’s operational radar.

The main technical challenges for BLiP will be the design, understanding, and optimization of the signal processing chain, as well as the practicalities of implementing BLiP algorithms using high-performance real-time processing.

Applicant Day for interested applicants is held on October 28. The BLiP Broad Agency Ads Application contains complete information about the abstract and/or proposal submission program.

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