Algorithms for landmine detection using the NIITEK ground penetrating radar

Ground penetrating radar has been proposed as an alternative sensor to classical electromagnetic induction techniques for the landmine detection problem. The NIITEK-Wichmann antenna provides a high frequency radar signal with very low noise levels following the ground reflection. As a result, the signal from a buried object is not masked by the inherent noise in the system. It has been demonstrated that an operator can learn to interpret the NIITEK-Wichmann radar signal to detect and identify buried targets. The goal of this work is to develop signal processing algorithms to automatically process the radar signals and differentiate between targets and clutter. The algorithms that we are investigating have been tested on data collected at the JUXOCO test grid as well as on data collected in calibration lanes that are used for evaluating the performance of handheld and vehicular landmine detection systems. We have developed algorithms based on principle component analysis, independent component analysis, matched filters, and Bayesian processing of wavelet features. We have also considered several approaches to ground-bounce removal prior to processing. In this paper we discuss the relative performance of each of the techniques as well as the impact of ground bounce removal on processing of the data.