Seeing Beneath the Surface: Ground-Penetrating Radar (GPR) from Ground-Based Systems to UAV Integration

Seeing Beneath the Surface: Ground-Penetrating Radar (GPR) from Ground-Based Systems to UAV Integration

A public lecture by Professor Marlene Harter, Institute for Unmanned Aerial Systems, Offenburg University.

This talk introduces the basic principles of GPR and explores selected applications based on recent research activities. Particular attention will be given to Step-Frequency Continuous-Wave (SFCW) radar, illustrating how measurements over a wide frequency range can be used to obtain depth-resolved information. Building on ground-based GPR applications, the presentation will explore the next step of taking GPR into the air using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Current research on the design and integration of GPR antennas for UAV platforms will be presented, highlighting the potential of combining optimized antenna concepts, radar sensing, and autonomous aerial platforms for future subsurface exploration.

Marlene Harter received her Dr.-Ing. (Ph.D.) degree from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Germany, in 2014, in cooperation with Siemens AG, Corporate Technology. In 2014, she joined Robert Bosch GmbH, Germany, where she managed several automotive radar projects and served as project manager for the hardware development of the fifth-generation side radar for passenger cars and commercial vehicles.

Professor Harter is a Gledden Visiting Fellow at the UWA Institute of Advanced Studies, where her current research focuses on ground-penetrating radar for subsurface sensing, with particular emphasis on antenna design and integration into UAV platforms.