The Development of a Low-Cost High-Resolution Ultrasonic ISAR Imaging System for Educational Purposes

This paper presents the design and implementation of an ultrasonic radar system using a reusable radar design to generate inverse synthetic aperture radar(ISAR) images of small objects uniformly rotating on a turntable. The system was developed to create a low-cost radar to obtain inexpensive radar data for ISAR education purposes in indoor environments. Simulations were done to generate ISAR images of small rotating objects, and results were used to select suitable waveform parameters for the ultrasonic radar measuring real-world targets. The results from the experiments with measuring rotating corner reflectors and toy models demonstrate the imaging systems' effectiveness in producing high-resolution ISAR images, which can be used in various applications ranging from academic to industrial settings. The proposed system is expected to contribute to the field of radar imaging, providing a reliable and practical solution for imaging objects of interest and testing various algorithms for ISAR imaging. The system's design allows for further expansion and reuse in different forms of ISAR imaging, such as bi-static ISAR.