CARMSAR—A Compact and Reconfigurable Miniature SAR system for high resolution remote sensing

Department of Space Microwave Remote Sensing System, Institute of Electronics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IECAS) is developing a Compact And Reconfigurable Miniature Synthetic Aperture Radar (CARMSAR) system with light weight, low cost, and high resolution. The system is based on Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) techniques. Due to the ultra mini size and light weight, the CARMSAR system will be mounted on a Small-size Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (S-UAV) platform, and will provide agile reaction and capability of high-resolution imaging in all-day and all-weather conditions. Therefore, it promises different potential applications such as pollution detection, natural risks prevention, fire prevention, traffic control, and environmental monitoring. In this paper, we will describe the concept, system design and signal processing issues of the CARMSAR prototype, and finally presents an image conceived through an experimentional campaign, where this system was onboard a vehicle travelling on the sixth-ring road in Beijing, China.