Occlusion Handling in Radar for Detection of Wires and Pylons

A simple method to improve detection and false alarm rates is by tracking objects over successive frames. However, the performance of the tracker is heavily dependent on good continuity of the tracking process. Occlusions of objects are a key challenge for continuous tracking and may cause a tracker to disassociate from its target. In the framework of radar for wires and pylons detection, occlusions of wire and pylons frequently occur, thus deteriorating the effectiveness of a tracker. In this work, the phenomenology of these occlusions is discussed, and a method for occlusion handling is presented. Measurements taken in flight tests with a pulse-Doppler polarimetric radar for obstacle detection demonstrate the effectiveness of this method.