3-D Deformation Measurement Based on Three GB-MIMO Radar Systems: Experimental Verification and Accuracy Analysis

An experiment which involves the simultaneous deployment of three ground-based multiple-input multiple-output (GB-MIMO) radar systems to measure 3-D deformation of a displaceable corner reflector (DCR) is outlined in this letter. The DCR successively displaces in three mutually orthogonal directions and each radar measures 1-D deformation independently. Since the displacement directions of the DCR cannot be measured, they are estimated by solving a nonlinear equation set based on the rotation relationship between two 3-D coordinate systems, whose effectiveness is verified by simulation. Considering that the measurement accuracies of the DCR’s displacements along three axial directions of a 3-D coordinate system, that is, 3-D deformation, are related with how the coordinate system is built, the geometric dilution of precision (GDOP) is then utilized to take accuracy analysis. The measured and theoretical GDOP are rather close, which validates the feasibility of 3-D deformation measurement with three radar systems.