UAV-BORNE UWB RADAR FOR SNOWPACK SURVEYS

Abstract

In this report we summarize the capabilities and technical characteristics of our UAV-borne UWB radar system, designed for conducting snow surveys. We developed an ultrawideband snow sounder that is capable of imaging snow stratigraphy with a 5 cm range resolution. The radar can be carried by an octocopter UAV in order to carry out airborne snowpack surveys. During a demonstration on Andøya, we showed that the radar was capable of resolving snow stratigraphy in wet snow conditions, as well as detecting a buried person under 1.5 m of wet snow. In this report, we present the results of the demonstration in detail. We furthermore discuss capabilities and incapabilities of our radar system and offer a list of future steps to bring it to an operational status.