Real-time estimator of Laser Doppler Anemometer signal parameters based on Kalman filtering

In order to develop a cheap and reliable way of measuring an aircraft's speed, the French aerospace laboratory, ONERA, has designed a new Laser Doppler Anemometer (LDA) based on coherent detection [10]. A laser beam is generated in the vicinity of the aircraft. An aerosol particle passing through the laser volume scatters light according to its velocity. Back-scattered signal consists of a Gaussian shaped time-varying amplitude modulated by a sinusoidal signal. Its envelope and its phase carry the speed information. Because of speed requirements signal processing, a simple real-time estimator, based on Kalman filtering, is proposed in this study.