5
2 System components
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In short the MIRA system comprises the following parts (see Figure 2.1):
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Antennas, separate transmitters and receivers antennas with the centre frequencies of
200MHz, 400MHz or 1.3GHz.
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The antennas are preferably placed in a special antenna box for deployment of the system.
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The MIRA option. The standard configuration is equipped with 16 channels but can be
customized for any number of channels up to 31.
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A modified ProEx control unit.
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A positioning system, Total station (ATS type) or RTK GPS.
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A Windows based computer to collect, save and process data, with data acquisition
(MIRASoft) and processing (rSlicer) software
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Suitable vehicle or arrangement (with antenna array on wheels for moving).
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Power supply for the ProEx control unit and the antenna array, 12V.
These different parts are explained in more detail below.
Fig. 2.1
The MIRA system, with the antenna array on a vehicle (A) and the positioning system (self-
tracking Total station) (B).
The following definitions are used:
Trace
= The recorded radar signal from one channel at one point. An envelope built up by a certain
number of samples.
Point distance
= Distance between each trace collected for all individual channels.
Sample
= Instant, digital value of recorded radar signal at one specific time.
Stacks
= Number of averages for each trace
Swath
= One complete profile line including all channels in the array. The coverage for every swath
depends on the individual channel spacing times the number of channels.
A
B
