MIT: Independent Activities Period: IAP

IAP 2013



Find a Needle in a Haystack with 3D Imaging Radar

Dr. Bradley Perry

Enrollment: Advance sign-up Required
Sign-up by 01/11
Limited to 24 participants
Attendance: Participants must attend all sessions
Prereq: Please see second paragragh of course description

Ever wonder if you could really find a needle in a haystack? Here’s your chance to give it a try! MIT Lincoln Laboratory is offering a unique course that will show you how to collect and process data with an ultra-wideband (UWB) imaging radar, and then use it to accurately locate a real needle in a real haystack. This course will appeal to anyone interested in the following: electronics, amateur radio, physics, or electromagnetics. The course will take place over two days. On the first day, students will learn the basic concepts of operation for an UWB radar in a classroom setting, and then form into teams of three. Each team will use an UWB radar unit to perform 2D imaging of objects around campus. On the second day, the teams will present their 2D images to the group, and then use their radars to locate a needle in a full size haystack with 3D imaging. The team that comes closest to finding the actual location of the needle will be the winner.

This course will use concepts and techniques covered in detail by two other IAP courses, ‘Build a Small Radar System’, and ‘Build a Small Phased Array Radar System’, which will be offered just prior to this one during IAP.  Students are encouraged to take one or both of the other courses to get acquainted with radar hardware and signal processing techniques. 

Sponsor(s): Lincoln Laboratory, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Contact: Dr. Bradley Perry, LIN-S2-227, (781) 981-0861, radar.course@ll.mit.edu


Find a Needle in a Haystack

Jan/31 Thu 10:00AM-12:00PM 26-168, Please see second paragraph of course description
Feb/01 Fri 10:00AM-03:00PM 26-168, Please see second paragraph of course description

Dr. Bradley Perry, Dr. Allan Fenn, Dr. Raoul Ouedraogo, Glenn Brigham, Joseph McMichael, Dr. Daniel Rabinkin, Dr. Gerald Benitz