The Earth remote sensing locator successfully tested
Scientists of the NTI Competence Center “Sensorica” have completed research tests and are preparing to test the operation of a new radar platform for remote sensing of the Earth on the territory of Russian agricultural land. The developed platform allows to determinate the vegetation index and areas of soil overconsolidation and that makes it possible to increase the yield by 15-20%.
The development is a medium-class hexacopter with a payload of up to 12 kg and an airborne synthetic aperture radar complex, consisting of a processing unit and a microwave part, as well as an antenna. According to the head of the scientific educational center “Digital Sensory Systems” of the NTI Competence Center “Sensorica” Konstantin Lyalin, the task of the development is to detect moisture in the soil and the inhomogeneities of its structure, so the complex consists of two frequency ranges: 10 GHz and 1.2 GHz. Comparison of these two ranges reveals differences in soil structure.
The platform can be used in agriculture - to control the state of farmland, monitor man-made and natural disasters, ice reconnaissance (determining the thickness of ice and optimal routes for ships in the ice of the Arctic), to monitor the condition of oil pipelines, gas pipelines, power lines, as well as to search for minerals and carry out scientific research, including carbon testing sites.
Among the advantages of the development, scientists noted the high resolution (images of the earth's surface are comparable in quality to optical ones), small weight and size characteristics, a modular design of the radar, which allows to configure the platform for the needs of a particular customer without developing a radar from scratch. With the locator of remote sensing of the Earth it is possible to obtain images of the earth's surface from aircraft and spacecraft, regardless of illumination, weather, the presence of clouds or tree crowns. Thus, the system has become all-weather, and the resolution and pixel size on the map do not depend on the flight altitude, which makes it possible to use it in the space segment as well.
The tests confirmed that the image characteristics in terms of resolution and dynamic range were at the level of the world's best analogues (30 by 30 cm in the X-frequency range, 65 by 65 in the L-frequency range) with smaller weight and size characteristics (less than 2.5 kg). For example, a resolution of 25 cm can currently only be provided by IMSAR, but with the use of inertial navigation systems.
“Now our center is developing the space segment. We are carrying out research work and prepare proposals for small spacecraft. We are also exploring the possibility of using the locator to determine the moisture content in plants. This is important because the percentage of moisture determines the quality of the grain. In addition, we are working on improving the platform for the purpose of radar imaging to determine minerals. Already today, this technology is successfully used for the purpose of all-weather surveying for mapping. You can use it for surveying, especially when it comes to hard-to-reach places where there are forests. Our locator allows us to "penetrate" through the trees and mark the site,” said Konstantin Lyalin.