Joint Radar & Communication Waveforms

TECHNICAL POINT OF CONTACT (TPOC)
Thomas Provencher
PROJECTED CMMC LEVEL REQUIREMENT
Level 2 (Self)
TECHNOLOGY AREAS
Electronics
|
Sensors
MODERNIZATION PRIORITIES
Integrated Sensing and Cyber
KEYWORDS
radar, embedded data, waveform diversity, dual-function waveform design
OBJECTIVE
Embed information directly into transmitted radar waveforms, to lessen or remove requirements for separate communications datalinks.
ITAR
The technology within this topic is restricted under the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR), 22 CFR Parts 120-130, which controls the export and import of defense-related material and services, including export of sensitive technical data, or the Export Administration Regulation (EAR), 15 CFR Parts 730-774, which controls dual use items. Offerors must disclose any proposed use of foreign nationals (FNs), their country(ies) of origin, the type of visa or work permit possessed, and the statement of work (SOW) tasks intended for accomplishment by the FN(s) in accordance with section 3.5 of the Announcement. Offerors are advised foreign nationals proposed to perform on this topic may be restricted due to the technical data under US Export Control Laws.
DESCRIPTION
Conventionally radar sensing and communications require separate hardware on surveillance platforms, which adds complexity and latency. Data-encoded waveforms use waveform diversity or modulated pulses to carry additional information. A Dual-functional Radar Communication (DFRC) scheme is where arbitrary communication info is encoded in pulse shapes rather than sent over a dedicated communication link. Phase I is to design chirp/phase-modulated schemes that encode additional information into a radar pulse. Testing would verify that a receiver can decode this embedded data while correctly processing the radar data without an external datalink. Phase II involves building a hardware prototype, where data-encoded waveforms are transmitted and received. Phase III would apply this technology to existing Service networks and/or emulate existing Service sensor parameters, to study the ability to reduce reliance on secure datalinks separate from the radar sensor. Dual Use: Similar techniques could serve civilian networks, such as embedding vehicle ID or geolocation in automotive radar pulses, or providing redundancy to automatic dependent surveillance broadcast (ADSB) for Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) radars, etc.
PHASE I
Develop encoding schemes to modulate waveform parameters with additional information. Validate via simulation and/or lab radar testbeds that embedded data can be recovered with minimal degradation of radar signal processing performance.
PHASE II
Implement the encoding/decoding on prototype radar hardware. Conduct a hardware test to evaluate ability to share information derived from the waveform itself. Study requirements for real-time operation and evaluate bit error vs. radar performance.
PHASE III DUAL USE APPLICATIONS
Deploy in existing Service radar systems or emulate Service radar system parameters to show utility without requiring separate comms. Civil applications include cooperative vehicle-to-vehicle radar.
REFERENCES
M. Zoltowski, M. Shuman and M. Rangaswamy, "Virtual Waveform Diversity with Phase-Coded Radar Waveforms," 2021 55th Asilomar Conference on Signals, Systems, and Computers, Pacific Grove, CA, USA, 2021, pp. 1048-1052, doi: 10.1109/IEEECONF53345.2021.9723390.
A. Ahmed, Y. D. Zhang and B. Himed, "Distributed Dual-Function Radar-Communication MIMO System with Optimized Resource Allocation," 2019 IEEE Radar Conference (RadarConf), Boston, MA, USA, 2019, pp. 1-5, doi: 10.1109/RADAR.2019.8835674
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