A SAP-DoA Method for the Localization of Two Buried Objects

A localization technique for buried metallic and dielectric objects is proposed and tested. An array of isotropic antennas investigates a scenario with cylindrical targets buried in a dielectric soil. The targets are in the near field of the array, and a Sub-Array Processing (SAP) approach is adopted: the array is partitioned into subarrays, and Direction of Arrival (DoA) algorithms are used to process the electromagnetic field received by each subarray and estimate the dominant arrival direction of the signal. By triangulating all the estimated DoAs, a crossing pattern is obtained. It is filtered by a Poisson-based procedure and subsequently elaborated by the -means clustering method in order to distinguish between targets and background, estimate the number of targets, and find their position. Several simulations have been performed to compare different DoA algorithms and to test the localization method in the presence of two buried cylinders. Different values of the permittivity of the involved dielectric materials have been considered; the target positions and size have also been varied. The proposed procedure can be useful for ground-penetrating radar applications, near-surface probing, and for the detection and localization of defects in a hosting medium.