An EMD-based micro-Doppler signature analysis for mini-UAV blade flash reconstruction

Under a radar-based mini-size unmanned aerial vehicle (mini-UAV) classification scenario, the mini-UAV physical parameters play an important role. The parameters can be retrieved from radar blade flashes induced by rotor blades. In this work, we propose a novel method for enhancing the distinctive-ness between blade flashes so that the physical parameters can be better estimated. Essentially, the radar micro-Doppler signatures (m-DS) is decomposed using a time-frequency analysis method, empirical mode decomposition (EMD). We then reconstruct the blade flashes using the selected blade-flash-characterized mode functions. From the spectrogram, the reconstructed blade flashes can be better seen than without using EMD.