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Effect of nonuniform target motion on radar backscattered waveforms

Article  in  IEE Proceedings - Radar Sonar and Navigation · September 2003

DOI: 10.1049/ip-rsn:20030637 · Source: IEEE Xplore

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Effect of nonuniform target motion on radar
backscattered waveforms

J.E. Gray and S.R. Addison

Abstract: The effect of nonuniform motion on radar waveforms is discussed. By considering the
physical model of a perfectly reflecting mirror with an arbitrary law of motion r(t), it is possible to
determine the functional form of the scattered wave at the receiver for any waveform in general.
The particular example of an interrupted continuous wave waveform is used to analyse the effect of
nonuniform motion on the return spectrum. These models provide a theoretical foundation for the
observations of micro-Doppler that have been discussed by a number of authors. Finally, some of
the implications, both physical and mathematical, of nonuniform motion for time – frequency
methods are addressed.

1 Introduction the same functional form g(t), which is given as

The Doppler effect [1] is a widely treated phenomena in 1

both radar and sonar for objects undergoing uniform
motion. There are many different models one can use to
derive the Doppler effect, see Censor for a history of the
subject [2]. The treatment of nonuniform motion is not
widely discussed in the literature of radar and sonar.
Some authors argue it is negligible [3], while others refer
to work dating back to Kelly and Wishner in the early
1960s [4]. The treatment by Kelly and Wishner is
difficult to justify in terms of electromagnetism. In the
language of waveform analysis, it is difficult to determine
when approximations are justified by the physics of the
waveform interaction and when they are not. However,
by returning to electromagnetic considerations in the
derivation and subsequent analysis, many of these issues
become transparent.
When a waveform interacts with a surface in motion, part
of the scattered signal is captured by a receiver. The effect of
the motion on the broadcast waveform s(t) is to transform
the signal so that when it interacts with the receiver it has a
different functional form. Depending on one’s schooling,
the form of the return signal can be interpreted in one of
three fashions. To the physicist, the Doppler effect is
nothing more than a double Lorentz transformation, so the
form of the scattered waveform is a relativistic effect. To an
engineer, the effect of scattering is nothing more than a
delay of scattered waveform when interacting at the
receiver. To a mathematician, the form of the received
waveform is nothing more than a continuous Mobius group
transformation of the time element in the functional form.
Regardless of the viewpoint, all three interpretations lead to
IEE Proceedings online no. 20030637
doi: 10.1049/ip-rsn:20030637
Paper first received 16th December 2002 and in revised form 9th May 2003
J.E. Gray is with the Systems Research and Technology Department,
Code B32, Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division Dahlgren,
VA 22448-5150, USA
S.R. Addison is with the Department of Physics and Astronomy University
of Central Arkansas Conway, AR 72034, USA
262
gðtÞ ¼ pffiffiffiffi f ð
t þ uÞ ð1Þ


where a is a time dilation term and u is a time translation
term. It is this functional form of the received signal that
seems familiar to those already acquainted with wavelets.
The next thing to do is consider what type of information we
are trying to recover from the return signal g(t). From the
physical viewpoint, there is a specific interpretation of the
constants a and u that are relevant to what we want to
measure. a can be related to the velocity of the scattering
object, while u can be related to the distance between the
broadcaster and the scatterer. One application, the type of
radar that is being designed and built, is based upon which
one of these two parameters one is more interested in
determining. This choice is the basis for which functional
form one chooses for the waveform f (t).
The physicist’s interpretation of the Doppler effect
currently is based upon relativity; either Galilean or the
special theory due to Einstein. Assume an observer can
broadcast a waveform of the form f ðkx þ !tÞ; where k is
the inverse wavelength and ! is the frequency. The wave
impinges on a moving mirror and is reflected back to the
stationary observer. What is the form of the received
waveform? Using relativity, one transforms the broadcast
waveform to the moving frame (x 0 ; t 0 ) via the Lorentz
transforms ( ¼ v=c; where c is the speed of light)
x  vt t  xc
x 0 ¼ pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi and t 0 ¼ pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi ð2Þ
1  2 1  2
The boundary value problem of reflection is solved with
the mirror appearing to be at rest relative to the
transformed waveform and then transformed back to
the observers reference frame. The form of the received
waveform g is
 
1 1 x
gðx; tÞ ¼  f ! tþ ð3Þ
1þ 1þ c
Note the form of the reflected frequency is
IEE Proc.-Radar Sonar Navig., Vol. 150, No. 4, August 2003
 1
!r ¼ !  ! ð1  2Þ ð4Þ
1þ
Note that since  1 for most applications involving
terrestrial radar, so this approximation is usually quite
good. There is one other thing to note, the functional
form in (3) can be written in the form
g ¼ f ð
t þ uÞ ð5Þ
where a is a number less than one and u represents a
translation of the axis. So (5) is of the form of a
contraction and a translation.
Most electrical engineers do not bother with relativity,
instead they view the Doppler effect as a delay (t) (where
 is usually assumed to be linear) so the return waveform
becomes
g ¼ Af ððt  ðtÞÞ! þ kxÞ ð6Þ
where A is a constant that normalises the return energy. An
intuitive argument [5] gives the requirement that  satisfy
the nonlinear functional equation
2 The model of a point target that is conceptually easiest to
ðtÞ ¼ Rðt  ðtÞÞ ð7Þ
c
where R(t) is the law of motion of the point scatter. For the
case RðtÞ ¼ R0 þ v0 t; the functional form of the return
waveform is
 
R
g ¼ Af !ð1  2Þt  2k 0 ð8Þ
c
Note again we have the same form as (5).
The third technique is the mathematician’s, which is
based on group theory. Group theory has an important, but
largely unnoticed role to play in many topics in radar the
beginnings of which are discussed in Miller [6], Auslander
and Gertner [7] and Bertrand and Bertrand [8, 9]. One
observes that the functional form in (5) is a special case of
the general Mobius transformation group
au þ b
z! ð9Þ
eu þ d
with e ¼ 0;
¼ a=d and  ¼ b=d: This then reduces the
Mobius group to the affine group. Then one notes that a,
being less than one, is a dilation of the time scale, while  is
a translation along the time scale. The effect of varying a is
similar to using a microscope to intensify the level of detail
about a function near a particular point, while with  one
slides about the range of the function observing gross details
about the function. It is this interpretation that leads to a
natural way to discuss wavelets as is seen in the latter
discussion of physical wavelets.
In this paper, we take the physical viewpoint and consider
what the physics tells us about the received waveform.
There are two ways the Doppler effect can produce
complicated behaviour in the frequency spectrum so that a
simple frequency analysis does not easily capture all of the
target’s behaviour. When an object is undergoing nonuni-
form motion, the Doppler spectrum loses its ideal point-like
characteristics and starts to show broadening when the
object is undergoing motion characteristics, such as
accelerations, jerks or exponential slowdowns. Such motion
laws can lead to both broadening and multiple peaks in the
Doppler spectrum under the right circumstances. Periodic
motion ideally produces a Doppler spectrum with an infinite
number of peaks related to the periodicity of the object’s
motion. Both of these types of spectral characteristics can be
IEE Proc.-Radar Sonar Navig., Vol. 150, No. 4, August 2003
classified as micro-Doppler [10], a means of discussion due
to Chen and Ling. We present a straightforward analysis
based on the mirror (the canonical example of a moving
boundary) that is undergoing an arbitrary law of motion as a
means of understanding one-dimensional micro-Doppler
which arises in a waveform analysis. The structure of the
scattered waveform provides a conceptually simple means
to represent the effect of nonuniform motion on the scattered
waveform. This work is a continuation of earlier work done
by Kelly and Wishner [4], Censor [11], Cooper [12], and
De Smedt [13]. This analysis is independent of narrow-band
assumptions so it is completely general. Following the
derivation, a particular waveform, continuous wave (CW),
is analysed for four particular examples of interest to the
radar community. In addition to the physical model of the
Doppler, a possible mathematical generalisation is
discussed that produces the derivation of the nonuniform
motion Doppler effect.
2 Nonuniform Doppler effect and waveform
analysis
model electromagnetically is a perfectly reflecting mirror as
shown in Fig. 1, which reflects back all of the radiation that
is incident upon it to a receiver. One wants to find a means
of expressing the received waveform in terms of the
transmitted waveform. Using wave theory, it is not too
difficult to determine the functional form of the incident
waveform f (t) and the scattered waveform g(t). Then the
scattered waveform can be expressed in terms of the
incident waveforms as (see the Appendix for a derivation
based on electromagnetism and relativity)
   
rðtÞ rðtÞ
g tþ ¼ aðtÞ f t  ð10Þ
c c
where the amplitude of the scattered waveform is
1  1cdrðtÞ
aðtÞ ¼ dt
ð11Þ
1 þ 1cdrðtÞ
dt
and the law of motion of the boundary, r(t) is arbitrary
except for the requirement that it must instantaneously
always be less than the speed of propagation c [12, 14]. This
result follows from the application of the relativistic
boundary conditions to the D’Alembert solution to the
wave equation. Note, this expression can also be justified by
intuitive arguments as well. Censor has noted that [11] with
Fig. 1 Idealised Doppler effect model
263
the introduction of the change of variables by introducing relativity. A second canonical example is the accelerating
the two definitions for  boundary rðtÞ ¼ R0 þ vt  12 at2 ; hðÞ is
rðtÞ " sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi #
 ¼tþ ð12Þ 1þ 2R0
2

c hðÞ ¼ 1þ 1þ 

cð1 þ Þ2 ð1 þ Þ2 ð22Þ
and
h ðÞ ¼ t ð13Þ for
" )
then one has the functional equation ð1 þ Þ2 R0 a
 2 0; þ and
¼
2
c c
rðh ðÞÞ
h ðÞ þ ¼ ð14Þ
c Exact determination of h for cubics and quadratics are also
(Note, this method was independently derived by De Smedt expressible in terms of radicals. For other functional forms
[13].) What one is doing by this change of variable is for r(t), exact solutions of h are not possible, but realistic
redefining the time axis so ‘time’ starts at  ¼ 0 in the approximate solutions are obtainable.
receiver time frame. Solving the functional equation for h() Often in radar applications, exact solutions for h() are
allows one to accomplish this redefinition. The scattered not necessarily useful. It is sufficient to determine a first-
waveform in terms of the incident waveform becomes order approximation when it is not possible to solve for h()
explicitly. For a more detailed discussion of the order
gðÞ ¼ aðhðÞÞ f ð2hðÞ  Þ ð15Þ approximation the discussion by Cooper is relevant [12].
From (18), one can see that a reasonable first-order
Noting that [15, 16]
approximation is ðrðhðÞÞ ’ rðÞÞ; so
drðhðÞÞ ð1  h0 ðÞÞ rðÞ
¼ ð16Þ h1 ðÞ ¼   ð23Þ
c dt h0 ðÞ c
so a(t) becomes Higher-order approximations are obtained by the relation
0
aðh ðÞÞ ¼ 2h ðÞ  1 ð17Þ 2rðhn1 ðÞÞ
hn ðÞ ¼   ð24Þ
Thus one has the canonical representation of the scattered c
waveform which converges to the functional form for h() in (18).
The received waveform can be expressed as
d
gðÞ ¼  Fð2hðÞ  Þ ð18Þ  
d d 2rðÞ
g1 ðÞ ¼  F1   ð25Þ
where d c
Z y For sonar applications, one should be careful about second-
Fð yÞ ¼ f ðuÞ du ð19Þ order effects and then use the exact form whenever possible.
However, for most radar applications and for our examples,
Equation (18) is an exact expression for the scattered (25) is sufficient. When the boundary law of motion r() is a
waveform independent of any bandwidth assumptions. nonlinear function, a complicated Doppler spectrum occurs
Thus, it can be used for narrowband as well as wideband about the central line of constant velocity. Any type
waveforms. The important things to note about the exact of nonuniform motion produces what Chen has termed
form in (18) are: first it is a solution to the wave equation micro-Doppler. The simplest waveform that can be used
and secondly, it satisfies the boundary condition at the to illustrate micro-Doppler is the single frequency wave-
surface of the mirror. This entire approach is called the form e j!0 t :
‘quasi-stationary method’. The effect of the derivative in The most commonly used waveform in the literature is
(18) becomes a noticeable effect on wideband waveforms, the continuous wave (CW) waveform
while it is not on narrowband waveforms. For narrowband
applications, the frequency is shifted down to the baseband f ðtÞ ¼ Ae j!0 t ½UðtÞ  Uðt  TÞ ð26Þ
frequency, so the frequency spectrum term produced by the
where U(t) is the unit step function. In radar applications
derivative is just an amplitude of one.
[17], one is usually interested in the frequency spectrum
Two examples relevant to radar are boundaries moving at
g^ ð!Þ of the scattered waveform. The spectrum for an
constant velocity or constant acceleration. For the constant
arbitrary h1 ðÞ; which follows from (25), is
velocity boundary rðtÞ ¼ R0  vt; hðÞ is given by
Z
 R j! T j!0 ð2rðÞ=cÞ j!
h ðÞ ¼ þ 0 ð20Þ g^ 1 ð!Þ ¼ A e e d ð27Þ
ð1  Þ c  v !0 0

with  ¼ v=c: Thus, the scattered waveform can be This can be rewritten as
written as Z T 0
0 0
  g^ 1 ð! Þ ¼ A e2jkrðÞ ej!  d ð28Þ
1 1 R 0
gðÞ ¼  f  0
1 1 cv where k ¼ !0 =c, A0 ¼ A!=!0 and ! 0 ¼ !  !0 : Thus, it is
 
R easy to determine the effect of nonuniform motion on the
 ð1  2Þ f ð1  2Þ  0 received waveform. Knowing the law of motion of the
cv ð21Þ
boundary, r(t), one takes the show-term Fourier transform of
The approximate solution in (12) is what is usually applied e2jkrðÞ ; which gives the spectrum. When the law of motion
in the literature, while the exact result is in agreement with is nonuniform, it introduces a nonlinear modulation into
264 IEE Proc.-Radar Sonar Navig., Vol. 150, No. 4, August 2003
the received spectra. One interesting thing to note about parameter to calculate. This spread in frequency can be
sinusoidal waveforms is that they are the only waveforms characterised [19]
that the derivative in (25) has no effect on the received
spectrum, since they are evaluated about the region ! 0 ¼ 0: 2 ¼ h!2 ig  h!i2g
This has some consequences for the spectrum of broadband
waveforms that should be carefully considered if such 00 ð0Þ  0 ð0Þ2
radars are ever developed. ¼ þ j!0  0 ð0Þ þ ð30Þ
1  ð0Þ ð1  ð0ÞÞ2
Note this method that we have outlined is a direct method
for computing the effect of the boundaries law of motion on where ðtÞ ¼ r 0 ðtÞ=c and
the waveform, and then computing the resultant spectrum. Z 1
There is an alternative method due to Razavy for h! n ig ¼ ! n g^ ð!Þ d! ð31Þ
monochromatic waves using the inverse problem method- 1
ology [18]. His method is indirect, while our method is a The only significant term in radar applications is the second
direct method that applies to signal waveforms directly one. Additional methods for analysing non-periodic motion
regardless of bandwidth, which has some advantages (not include using waterfall charts combinations of the short
having to evaluate two integrals). The methods are wholly term Fourier transform combined with the Kalman filter, the
equivalent for the monochromatic case. One further note, Wigner Transform, nonuniform motion ambiguity function
the constant velocity boundary rðtÞ ¼ vðtÞ has a spectrum methods and a other variety of time – frequency methods
given by discussed by Chen. Several specific examples now follow;
  boundaries that have nonuniform laws of motion.
T jð2kvþ! 0 ÞT
0 T 0 There are a number of different examples one can
g^ cv ¼ A e 2 sinc ð!  !0 ð2ÞÞ ð29Þ consider of nonuniform that occur in radar. The three that
2 2
are discussed have spectra that are solvable exactly. All
three have application in radar as models of certain types of
Note the magnitude of the spectrum in for the constant target motion models. They can also be used as models in
velocity approaches the ideal delta function response as non-radar applications as well, where different types of
T tends to infinity as shown in Fig. 2. This result is abrupt change occur from steady-state to periodic
consistent with the many other methods to derive the behaviour.
Doppler effect. We now discuss how nonuniform motion The accelerating boundary rðtÞ ¼ v0 t ¼ 12a0 t2 is a useful
produces complicated or micro-Doppler spectra. model for several different applications; manoeuvre detec-
tion for reasonable fast turning rates, thrusting threats, some
3 Complicated Doppler and micro-Doppler types of air friction slowdown, etc. After some algebra, the
spectra spectrum can be shown to be
rffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi rffiffiffi  rffiffiffi 
To reiterate, complicated Doppler and micro-Doppler 0 ju2 pffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
should be considered synonymous and occur because of g^ ca ¼ Ae K a0 k T  u þK u
2a0 k 2 2
nonuniform motion of the scattering object. Nonuniform
motion can be subdivided into two classes of motion where
characteristics; periodic and non-periodic motion. In
general, the effect of nonlinear motion is to complicate the kv þ ! 0 =2
spectral characteristics of the received signal. Either the u¼ pffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
a0 k
Doppler shows spectral spreading, or additional structure
appears in the form of sidebands appears in the spectrum. and K is the Frensel integral [19]
Note, while the theory is the same for either class of motion, Z y
2
how one might go about analysing the effect of nonuniform Kð yÞ ¼ e j x =2 dx
motion varies depending whether one is analysing periodic 0
or non-periodic motion. The subject of signal processing is There are several interesting pieces of information that
quite involved and needs a whole paper. can be determined from the spectrum. From the
When one is dealing with non-periodic motion, it is useful functional form, it is evident that two distinct peaks
to be able to characterise the effect nonuniform motion has will emerge if the acceleration is high enough. At
on the frequency spectrum. To characterise complicated X-band frequencies this starts above 15 g. Thus for a
behaviour, the spectral broadening or spread, is a useful highly accelerating object one can get two distinct
humps, which might mislead one that they are tracking
two distinct objects, when in fact there is only one.
Additionally, the spectrum shows broadening (spread)
since the two Fresnel integrals overlap. For the specific
case of an accelerating model, the spread is
rffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
2!0 ja0 j
jj ¼
c
which is significant for high accelerations and shorter
wavelengths. Another interesting feature is illustrated by
the waterfall chart. By laying successive frequency
spectra on top of each other, one sees that an object is
accelerating. The higher the acceleration, the more
rapidly the spectra moves to the right. Figure 3 illustrates
Fig. 2 Delta function spectra this by showing two different accelerations.
IEE Proc.-Radar Sonar Navig., Vol. 150, No. 4, August 2003 265
 rather than linear motion. One also gets the same splitting
phenomena that occurs for the accelerating boundary when
the acceleration is high enough. One can also compute the
moments from this spectra as well, so one has a direct means
of computing the jerk from the spectra, rather than using a
waterfall chart.

3.1 Periodic spectra as a source of micro-

Doppler
This model of a vibrating surface has been studied
extensively in the literature [21 – 24]. If the boundary is
periodic, rðt þ T1 Þ ¼ rðtÞ; then it can be shown that [20]
rðhð þ T1 ÞÞ ¼ rðhðÞ þ T1 Þ ¼ rðhðÞÞ; hence the spec-
Fig. 3 Acceleration waterfall chart trum can be written as
Z T
0
g1 ð!Þ ¼ A0 e j 2!0 h ðÞ ej!  d
The exponential deceleration model can be used as a 0
model of air friction slowdown of fragmented objects,  
meteors hitting the atmosphere and bullets leaving a barrel X
1 T T
0 j 2 ðnO!Þ
of a gun. The model ¼A an ð2!0 Þe sinc ðnO  !Þ ð32Þ
n¼0
2
a0 
rðtÞ ¼ vt þ ð1  e
t Þ where ðO ¼ fundamental vibration mode of object)

2
Z
has a spectrum that can be expressed in terms of Pearson’s O jnO j 2 ! h ðÞ
an ð2!0 Þ ¼
e e 0 d ð33Þ
incomplete gamma function O

A0 For the specific case rðtÞ ¼ vt  A0 sinðOtÞ; one uses the

g1 ð! 0 Þ ¼ j!00 =

½Cð y; 2ke
T Þ  Cð y; 2kÞ approximation for h() to get the specific functional form

ð2kÞ 
for an ¼ Jn ð4 A0 =Þ; where  ¼ wavelength of broadcast

þ jðSð y; 2ke
T Þ  Sð y; 2kÞÞ radar and A0 ¼ amplitude of vibration of object, so the
spectrum becomes
where
X1  
0
T
j 2 ðnO  !Þ T
j!00 g1 ð!Þ ¼ A Jn ð4 A0 =Þe sinc ðnO  !Þ
! 00 ¼ ! 0  2kv; y ¼ n¼0
2

ð34Þ
and the Pearson’s incomplete gamma functions are
defined as The spectrum resembles the inner-modulation spectrum that
Z 1 occurs in communication theory. For higher wavelengths,
the signal-to-sideband ratio is not negligible, so one could
Cð y; xÞ ¼ cosðuÞuy1 du consider the estimation of the size and location of the
x
Z sidebands for identification applications. For a discussion of
1
applications to target identification at radar frequencies
Sð y; xÞ ¼ sinðuÞuy1 du
x see [25]. A typical example of the spectrum is shown in the
vibration power spectrum (Fig. 4), where the amplitudes are
Evaluation of the moments analytically is mathematically Bessel functions that are a function of the amplitude and
difficult, so waterfall charts prove a more useful method to wavelength of the broadcast radar. The single-frequency
examine this model. sinusoidal vibration is the simplest analytical example of
The jerk model of an accelerating boundary rðtÞ ¼ micro-Doppler in the frequency spectrum.
v0 t  12 j0 t3 is a useful model for several different appli- From the electromagnetic point of view, micro-Doppler is
cations; manoeuvre detection for reasonable fast turning the appearance of complicated Doppler structure about the
rates, some types of air friction slowdown, etc. After some main Doppler line. From our point of view, while nonuni-
algebra, the spectrum can be shown to be form motion can produce micro-Doppler, the principle
rffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi rffiffiffi  rffiffiffi  source of easily detectable micro-Doppler is due to some
0 ju2 pffiffiffiffiffiffi
g^ ca ¼ Ae A j0 kT  u þA u type of periodic motion. There are three possible sources of
2j0 k 2 2 micro-Doppler. Besides the two types of one-dimensional
nonuniform motion which produce micro-Doppler, there are
where two others that are multidimensional. Chopping motion
interrupts the waveform which then produces a periodicity
kv þ ! 0 =2 in the return spectrum that is proportional to the interruption
u¼ pffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
a0 k rate. The third source of micro-Doppler can come from three
dimensional rotational motion about the centre of mass of
and A represents the Airy functions
the object. Simple examples of three-dimensional micro-
Z y Doppler include rotating cylinders and spheres, for
3
Að yÞ ¼ e j x =2 dx example. Any sort of periodic motion about the centre of
0
mass produces micro-Doppler. In general, each micro-
The spectrum is similar to that of the accelerating boundary Doppler source has similar effects; it produces periodicity in
except that the waterfall chart shows quadratic motion the time domain which appears as sidebands in the
266 IEE Proc.-Radar Sonar Navig., Vol. 150, No. 4, August 2003
Fig. 4 Vibration power spectrum

frequency domain. All periodic phenomena produce 4 Physical wavelets and the analysis of data
a spectrum that is analogous to the vibration spectrum, so
that spectra from M distinct sources of periodicity are At this point, it is useful to consider the ambiguity function
for nonuniform motion models. The definition of the
  ambiguity function as a matched filter response to the
0
X
M X
1 T
j ðnOm !Þ T return signal enables the broadband ambiguity function for
g1 ð!Þ ¼ A Jn ð4 Am
0 =Þe 2 sinc m
ðnO  !Þ an arbitrary law of motion r(x) to be written as [25]
m¼0 n¼0
2
Z  
ð35Þ 1 d 2rðÞ
Aa ð!;  Þ ¼  pffiffiffiffi f ðÞ F      ej! d
E d c
Micro-Doppler is a potential rich source of information ð36Þ
that can be used for a wide variety of applications that where we have explicitly included a delay in term j. The
include: notation Aa ð!; Þ denotes the nonuniform motion waveform,
(i) Classification: One can use nonuniform motion effects
as a means of doing some types of radar identification or for
typing of different types of threats [26].
(ii) Biomedical applications: One can identify biomedical
irregularities associated with the periodic motion associated
with the heart [27 – 29].
(iii) Non-destructive testing: By using a low-power RF
while Að!; Þ is used p toffiffiffiffidenote the regular ambiguity
function. The reason for E is that while the original signal
is normalised, the signal modified by nonuniform motion is
not normalised because of the effect of the motion. The
primary difference between this and previously mentioned
results is the derivative in the integral. It is impractical to
transform the broadband ambiguity function into the usual
waveform source and then examining responses of the symmetric form. If we let f^ ð!Þ and F^ ð!; Þ denote the
return waveform after it has interacted with the engine. Non- Fourier transform of f (x) and F(x), respectively, the
periodic changes to the periodic spectra may act as an ambiguity function can be written as
indicator of potential failure. This would work for car and
other vehicle engines as well as electrical generators, for Ca ð!; Þ ¼ f^ ð!Þ  j!F^ ð!; Þ ð37Þ
example. (This has not been discussed in the literature.) where * denotes convolution. It is evident that either r(x) or
(iv) Model reconstruction: Using individual micro-Doppler r 0 (x) being constant have the same ambiguity function, so
components to reconstruct separate sources of Doppler and Cð!; Þ ¼ Ca ð!; Þ: Thus, this is not true when r 00 ðxÞ 6¼ 0:
hence the surface that produced them [30]. (This is The properties of the new nonuniform motion ambiguity
discussed further in the following Section.) function are discussed further in [25]. An alternative
Both the sources of complicated spectra, nonuniform wideband ambiguity function is discussed by Swick [32,
Doppler and non-periodic Doppler have complexities that 33], and Kelly and Wishner [4].
are difficult to capture with a single snapshot of the spectra. A natural consequence of the physics that we have
One can use a variety of signal processing techniques to considered so far suggests that the effect of nonuniform
determine both the sources of periodicity in the time domain motion on data is to produce functional iteration on the
and the nonlinear law of motion by a number of different return waveform. Thus, we could reasonably claim, by
methods. The simplest of these are waterfall charts (short- ignoring the derivative and just considering the functional
term Fourier transform) which when coupled with an form, that we have a general form for the generalised
observer allow one to detect nonuniform motion either by Doppler effect functional form as
visual inspection or audio methods. Sidebands in frequency  
rðxÞ
domain can be determined by a variety of nonlinear signal gðxÞ ¼ C ax þ ð38Þ
processing techniques. There are a variety of time – c
frequency methods that can be used to analysis these If we think in terms of a radar receiver, then the matched
types of return waveforms such as, Cohen class transforms, filter response to such a functional form for the received
Wigner transforms and Gaussian wavepackets. These are waveform is
discussed by other authors in this Special Issue. In addition, Z  
wavelets can be used to analyse this type of complex rðxÞ j!x
waveform structure that we have discussed. Note, it is Fða; c; !Þ ¼ f ðxÞC ax þ e dx ð39Þ
c
possible to combine this methodology with some other work
we have done on characteristic functions, to consider the Irrespective of radar considerations, this provides an
more general problem of randomly vibrating mirrors [31]. alternative means of deconstructing data [30]. It could be
IEE Proc.-Radar Sonar Navig., Vol. 150, No. 4, August 2003 267
considered to be, in some sense, a generalisation of wavelets function that is ideally a delta (
) function f ðxÞ ¼
ðxÞ. The
and time – frequency methods. We define this type of reason this appears to be the best waveform is that the effect
transformation as a modulation transform with a and c of the law of motion on the scattered waveform is a
taken to be arbitrary constants. An alternative viewpoint to translation, i.e. gðxÞ ¼ A
ðx  r0 Þ: This translation is easily
this discussion is to consider what Kaiser has called a detectable as a sharp peak at r0 : For the constant velocity
‘physical wavelet’. If one has a trajectory a(t), one can model, the best waveform is f ðxÞ ¼ e j!0 x ; which when
define an emission operator Ea as the operator transforming Fourier transformed appears as a
function for the scattered
the time signal CðtÞ into space – time wave F(x) defined by waveform gðxÞ ¼ A0 e j!xð12b=cÞ : The reason the
function is
Z 1 the ideal function for detection is that it distributes all of the
FðxÞ ¼ dt G½x  rðtÞ;   tCðtÞ ð40Þ energy in one domain and maps it into a narrow region in the
1 codomain of the dynamic variable. Both translation and
so the effect of the emission operator is given by scaling properties do not hold for the new ambiguity
Z 1 function, therefore it is difficult to determine a waveform
so that F(x) has the translation property when f(x) does not.
ðEa CÞðxÞ ¼ dt G½x  aðtÞCðtÞ ð41Þ The problem is to solve the integral equation
1
Z  
It then becomes a reconstruction problem to determine a(t) d 2rðxÞ
from the scattered data. A very readable review of physical AðÞ
ð  0 Þ ¼ F x  Kðx; Þdx ð44Þ
dx c
wavelets is found in [34]. A recent comprehensive review of
physical wavelets is about to appear that extends the subject This resembles a Fredholm integral of the first kind, if one
into complex space – time and is found in [35], while knew a priori what K(x, s) should be. c is large parameter
applications that discuss wavelets and radar can be found in compared to r (x) in some interval [a, b ]. Functions which are
[36, 37]. almost separable have the property
The modulation transform can be interpreted in a variety    
of ways. For example, if we take C to be a superposition if rðxÞ rðxÞ
F x ¼ FðxÞg ð45Þ
sinusoidal functions, then linear models r(x) produce c c
familiar audio effects or linear chirp. Quadratic or higher
models can be thought of as an attempt to deconstruct an If F(x) obeys this property, then it can be removed from the
unknown function in terms of functional iterations of integral by modifying the definition, so we have
nonlinear chirps. Thus, one thinks of this approach as a Z  
2rðxÞ
means of finding hidden periodicity within the data. AðÞ
ð  0 Þ ¼ g0  kðx; Þdx ð46Þ
Alternatively, one could use this as means of encoding c
data with relatively few sinusoidal functions by using To solve this equation one needs to approximate r(x) by a
iteration rather than many frequencies to capture the truncated Taylor series, so the
function becomes a series of
essential features of the data, so we could deconstruct data
functions:
by the modulation transform !
Z  Pn  Xn Z X
0 j
i¼1 sinð!i xÞ AðÞ
ð  i Þ ¼ g  bj x kðx; Þdx ð47Þ
Fða; c; !Þ ¼ f ðxÞ sin ax þ ej!x dx
c i¼0 j

ð42Þ where the coefficients bi are to be associated with spacing of

functions i : This reconstruction problem has now been
Note, any of the common set of basis functions could be
used as an alternative to the sinusoidal waves. This falls
naturally out of the matched filter approach to a radar
receiver design. By considering the original definition of the
generalised Doppler effect, we note the requirement that
hðÞ ¼ t is a fixed point relation. It can be interpreted as the
number of zero crossings of the function h() of the line at
t ¼ : Thus, using our Doppler matched filter interpretation
allows us to consider an alternative to the standard view of
the wavelet viewpoint. We are introducing a function with a
certain fixed-point behaviour that we then try and match to
an unknown zero crossing properties of the function f.
Proper maximisation of the zeros of the test functions allows
us to maximise the energy of the Fourier transform of the
unknown functions. A mathematical interpretation of these
words is
ZZ  
 hðÞ  u
Wh ðs; !Þ ¼ f ðuÞC ej! ddu ð43Þ
s Z T
This is the mapping wavelet applied to f.
Another interesting problem to consider that comes out of
this work is as follows: given a law of motion r(x), what is the
‘best’ waveform f (x) to enable one to determine r(x)? Part of
the problem is obviously to determine what ‘best’ means.
There are two functional forms for r(x) where the answer is
believed to be known; rðxÞ ¼ r0 and rðxÞ ¼ bx: The best
waveform for determining the constant position is the pulse
268
the
transformed into a wavelet problem. Note, when one goes
beyond the discussion of the physical problem, a wide
variety of interesting mathematical questions are opened up
that are worth considering.
5 Conclusions
In this paper, the physics of scattering off a waveform off
a mirror undergoing nonuniform motion is discussed. The
results applied to the determination of the canonical
representation for the frequency spectrum of point reflectors
undergoing nonuniform motion
d
gðÞ ¼  Fð2hðÞ  Þ ð48Þ
d
This result is then simplified and applied to a continuous
waveform to yield the result
0
0 0
g^ 1 ð! Þ ¼ A e2jkrðÞ ej!  d ð49Þ
0
where several examples of complicated useful models have
been presented. The final functional form is conceptually
straightforward to work from, thus it provides a useful
conceptual simplification over previous work as well as a
practical one. One simply plugs in the law of motion for
the boundary r() and takes the short-term Fourier transform.
IEE Proc.-Radar Sonar Navig., Vol. 150, No. 4, August 2003
This methodology is illustrated through several examples of
nonuniform motion and periodic motion that illustrates how
one can extract information from the Doppler spectrum in a
straightforward fashion. One obvious application of this is to
characterise target dynamics, but there are other applications
as well that are discussed further in the text. This method has
application in extending broadband waveforms to nonuni-
form motion in a straightforward fashion. In addition, a
connection is made between the physical effect on the
waveform and a physical interpretation of wavelets as a
special case of complicated nonuniform Doppler modu-
lation. We note also, that this methodology hints at potential
means of developing some new mathematics independently
of the physics we have discussed.
6 Acknowledgments
The authors thank to Victor Chen for requesting that they
write this paper. They also thank the referees for many
useful suggestions have that improved the paper, and they
are grateful to the to many coauthors with whom many
different aspects of this subject have been discussed. This
work was supported in the early 1990s by the NSWC SLWT
program by D. Brunson.
7 References
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24 De Zutter, D.: ‘Reflection from linear vibrating objects: plane mirror at
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8 Appendix
In this Appendix, we derive (10), for completeness.
Assuming propagation in the z-direction as in Fig. 1, let
the incident electric and magnetic fields I be represented by
EI ¼ f ðz; tÞ^x
and
1
BI ¼ f ðz; tÞ^y
c
Furthermore, let the law of motion of the boundary r(t)
satisfy the condition
drðtÞ
 vmax < c
dt
Assume that the scattered fields can be written as
ES ¼ gðz; tÞ^x
and
1
BS ¼  gðz; tÞ^y
c
If one assume a D’Alembert solution to the wave equation,
then the forms of f(z, t) and g(z, t) become
 
rðtÞ
f ðz; tÞ ¼ f t 
c
and
 
rðtÞ
gðz; tÞ ¼ g t þ
c
Applying the proper relativistic boundary condition ([13]
p. 130)
un  ðe2  e1 Þ  ðun vÞ ðe2  e1 Þ ¼ 0
269
or for the case of the mirror which is the form we started with in the main text. Note this
result is more general than one might first suspect. The
ex  vby ¼ 0 mirror boundary condition makes the field vanish instant-
aneously at the surface, hence it imparts the law of motion
Then applying this to the D’Alembert solution of the wave of the mirror to the waveform, e.g. it induces a modulation
equation gives the received waveform as to the functional form of the return waveform. Since the
!  field is zero in one reference frame, the transform of it is
  
rðtÞ 1  drðtÞ
c dt rðtÞ zero in any other reference frame. Thus, it is the proper
g tþ ¼ f t  result for accelerating reference frames as well, so is a
c 1 þ drðtÞ
c dt
c
general result.

270 IEE Proc.-Radar Sonar Navig., Vol. 150, No. 4, August 2003

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