Using UWB to sense objects through walls

[xpc123456789]

Hi everyone.

I am currently involved in a project which is using UWB technology to sense/localise/image objects behind walls. The requirement is not to have any transceivers in the room that is going to be imaged. Currently, the idea I have is to detect the backscatter UWB pulses reflected from the objects inside, and process them by looking at their amplitude and time of arrival.

However, the main problem is to build a UWB transmitter and have a receiver with receiver sensitivity high enough to detect the backscatter pulses. I have purchased a few Decawave DWM1000 modules to try it out, but they only work by having a transmitter inside the room for the two way ranging method to work.

Does anyone have any experience related to this topic or UWB technology, please help me out with any ideas that are feasible, or any design plans I should have.

Thanks a lot!

 

[Nidum]

Google ground penetrating radar and wall penetrating radar .

 

[Baluncore]

To generate a crude image you are going to need an array of antennas. The number of elements in the array will decide the detail available in the image.

If you only want x, y position of say a single person walking on the floor of another room then you can do that with a horizontal array of three or more elements.
Do you need vertical image components also?

Simple "Time Of Arrival" will give only the nearest reflector. Later arrivals will be ignored or hidden in the noise.

 

[xpc123456789]

@Nidum thanks. I have looked at those, hence the proposal I made using CW radars.

@Baluncore our initial plan was to include both horizontal and vertical. And yes I have thought of that as the DWM1000s were programmed only to receive the nearest path.

Therefore, I have proposed another idea without using UWB. I plan to use multiple CW or FM-CW transceivers, and try to detect the echo and do some signal processing. Does anyone have experience in using CW radars for through-wall imaging/localising/tracking? Please do share them, thanks a lot.