Optimization of a compact THz imaging radar for real-time operation

A summary of obstacles and solutions in the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid's CW-LFM (continuous-wave linear frequency modulation) imaging radar towards enabling real-time through-clothes threat detection with a compact system is presented. Image acquisition has been designed to permit a 2 fps (frames per second) video feed, and a newly developed signal-processing and image representation software, run on a mixed CPU-GPGPU (central processing unit general-purpose graphics processing unit) architecture, allows speeds up to 5 fps. Additional hardware modifications have yielded reductions in cost, power consumption, and volume.