Robotic Control for Cognitive UWB Radar

TL;DR

This paper presents a trajectory planning approach for a robotic arm equipped with UWB radar to optimize 3D imaging and inspection tasks, balancing resolution, coverage, and operational constraints.

Contribution

It formulates the trajectory planning as an optimization problem for a 6-DOF robotic arm with UWB radar, enabling collision-free, efficient scanning for various applications.

Findings

Optimized trajectories improve 3D reconstruction quality.

Sliding and spotlight modes enhance area coverage and resolution.

The approach reduces observation time while maintaining accuracy.

Abstract

In the article, we describe a trajectory planning problem for a 6-DOF robotic manipulator arm that carries an ultra-wideband (UWB) radar sensor with synthetic aperture (SAR). The resolution depends on the trajectory and velocity profile of the sensor head. The constraints can be modelled as an optimization problem to obtain a feasible, collision-free target trajectory of the end-effector of the manipulator arm in Cartesian coordinates that minimizes observation time. For 3D-reconstruction, the target is observed in multiple height slices. For Through-the-Wall radar the sensor can be operated in sliding mode for scanning larger areas. For IED inspection the spot-light mode is preferred, constantly pointing the antennas towards the target to obtain maximum azimuth resolution.