Efficient sparse imaging reconstruction algorithm for through-the-wall radar

Sparse reconstruction technique can be used to provide high-resolution imaging result for through-the-wall radar (TWR) system. Since conventional sparse imaging reconstruction algorithms usually require a tremendous amount of computer memory and computational complexity, it is very difficult to apply in the practical large-scale TWR imaging applications. To solve the above problem, an efficient sparse imaging reconstruction algorithm is proposed in this paper. The proposed imaging method combines the spectral projection gradient L1-norm (SPGL1) algorithm with nonuniform fast Fourier transform (NUFFT) technique to achieve imaging reconstruction. Benefiting from the function handle operation of SPGL1 and computational efficiency of NUFFT, the proposed imaging algorithm can significantly reduce the memory requirement and computation complexity. The simulated and experimental results have shown that the proposed imaging method can significantly reduce the required computer memory and computational cost while providing the similar recovered image quality as the conventional sparse imaging method. © 2017, Electromagnetics Academy. All rights reserved.