Insect 3-D Orientation Estimation Based on Cooperative Observation From Two Views of Entomological Radars

The ability of insect orientation measurement of entomological radars supported the study of insect heading behaviors. However, the current entomological radars can only measure the 2-D orientation that is the projection of the 3-D orientation on the horizontal plane. The ability to measure the 3-D orientation of insect will promote the study of the vertical and 3-D heading behaviors of insect. In this study, an insect 3-D orientation estimation method based on cooperative observation from two views of entomological radars is proposed. The expression of 3-D orientation is deduced based on 2-D orientation, azimuth, and elevation measured with two radars at different stations through vector operation. The simulations are conducted to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method. The result shows that the estimation error of 3-D orientation depends on that of the 2-D orientation and the included angle between two lines of sight of two radars. A multiaspect fully polarimetric rig is designed to measure insect echo signals from two aspects in a microwave anechoic chamber. The experiment data are used to further validate the effectiveness of the proposed method.