35052 - Electromagnetic Techniques for Localization and Environmental Control

Learning outcomes

Fundamentals of active and passive remote sensing : Radiometer, Radar, Lidar. Electromagnetic technologies for radio-localisation and radio-navigation. GPS and Galileo systems and development of possible applications. Integration of telecommunication systems with radio-localisation systems and relevant applications.

Course contents

Introduction

The three fundamental operations of ICT world: acquisition, processing and communication. Information acquisition through the use of electromagnetic techniques.

Basic principles on the radiation of electromagnetic waves with particular attention to array antennas. Relationship between the antenna dimension (number of elements) and the amplitude of the main lobe. Notes on wide band antennas and propagation, Fourier spectrum, possibility of UWB transmission.

Body thermal emission, spectral power density and definition of radiance.

Outlines of reflection and diffraction mechanisms, free space and multipath propagation. Notions of Doppler effect, polarisation, direction arrival. Basics of radio cellular systems, spread-spectrum and UWB transmissions and relevant potentialities.

Principles and techniques for passive and active remote sensing

Remote sensing principles and methods: continuous wave, modulated sinusoidal wave, coding. Interaction between electromagnetic waves, obstacles and atmosphere.

Fundamentals of active and passive remote sensing. Radiometer. Primary Radar. SLR and SAR Radar, Lidar, Scatterometers. Applications and examples.

Automatic data collection and cooperative systems: SSR, RFID and Telepass.

Radio-localisation and radio-navigation

Basic principles of electromagnetic techniques for radio-localisation: general architecture and merit figures of a radio-localisation system, classification of radio-localisation methods (Angle of Arrival, Time of Arrival, Time Difference of Arrival, …), impact of real propagation on position estimate accuracy.

Electromagnetic technologies for radio-localization: radio-localization techniques based on cellular systems (GSM, UMTS), GPS and Galileo systems architecture and possible applications, localisation through UWB systems.

Integration of telecommunication systems with radiolocalisation systems: integration of systems devoted to information transmission with systems devoted to the evaluation and acquisition of mobile users position.

Radio control for landing: ILS. New systems and services for security and control of vehicles and of aircrafts on the airport ground.

Localisation of radio emissions: direction finding and applications.

Usage of integrated TLC/GPS systems for infomobility of transport vehicles and for the monitoring of nature calamities such as fire and earthquakes.

Course Presentation

The use of electromagnetic fields to solve logistic problems such as fleet management of ground vehicles and  environment security control is widely accepted and diffused in our society.

The course is aimed to provide firstly the basic methodological elements which are required to understand and to develop the most important remote sensing and localisation systems, then to provide a detailed description of each system architecture and functionalities.

Particular attention will be focused on possible future interesting localization and environment control applications and on the integration of communication and localisation systems. At the end of the course, students should be able to autonomously identify and develop new applications using the different localisation and communication systems previously illustrated.

Readings/Bibliography

Course lecture notes

G. Conciauro, Introduzione alle onde elettromagnetiche, McGraw-Hill,1993

W.G. Rees, Physical principles of remote sensing, Second Edition, Cambridge University Press, 2001

Ulaby, R. Moore, A. Fung, Microwave Remote Sensing, volumes: 1-3. Artech House, 1981-1986

Teaching methods

Lectures and laboratory exercises.

Assessment methods

Written and oral examination.

Teaching tools

PC, measurements instruments.

Office hours

See the website of Gabriele Falciasecca

See the website of Claudia Carciofi