Monostatic and bistatic radar measurements of birds and micro-drone

This paper analyses the experimental results from recent monostatic and bistatic radar measurements of multiple birds as well as a quadcopter micro-drone. The radar system deployed for these measurements was the UCL developed NetRAD system. The aim of this work is to evaluate the key differences observed by a radar system between different birds and a micro-drone. Measurements are presented from simultaneous monostatic co/cross polarized data as well as co-polar bistatic data. The results obtained show comparable signature within the time domain and a marked difference in the Doppler domain, from the various birds in comparison to the micro-drone. The wing beat properties of the birds are shown for some cases which is a stark contrast to the rotor blade micro-Doppler signatures of the drone.