Radar

Owned by Isabelle Avery (Unlicensed)
Last updated: Jan 04, 2023 by Charlotte Dakin-Norris
9 min read

Introduction

This section provides an explanation on how to add, edit and remove radar sensors, as well as a detailed explanation of the configurable settings. The radar and associated tracker are core components of the system so anyone commissioning this system is expected to have a thorough understanding of how to configure and tune these elements.

Contents

Overview

Within the Witness application, the radar represents both the radar and the software tracker which together provide the core capability of the system. Once the these components are configured correctly the system will be able to accurately detect, classify and track targets on the designated highways.

Adding New Radar

Once you have configured the site, there will be a Default Radar Group created, ready to be edited. To add new radar to the site configuration:

  1. Ensure Config Function is enabled.

  2. In the Configuration Tree, select the appropriate Radar Group folder into which you want to add the new radar.

     

  3. From the Configuration Panel (by default on the right hand side of the screen), select New.

  4. The new radar wizard will now start:

    Mode: Select the mode by which you will upload your Radar Group - Basic, Auto Discover or Import File.

    Layer: Select the display layer onto which you want to create the radar. See https://navtechradar.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/TUN/pages/790135394 for more information.

    Distance Between Radars: This is the default spacing distance between radar used to automatically position the radar when you select more than 1 radar. The first radar (or only radar if creating one) will be positioned in the centre of the PPI display. The wizard assumes you have started the process with the display approximately in the correct position for the new radar. You can move the radar's position once the wizard is complete.

    Model: The model of the radar you are adding. All new Witness installations should be using the CTS-350X.

    Radars to Add: The total number of radars you wish to install.

    Connection: The connection type and appropriate network settings.

  5. Once each radar has been updated, select Finish.

  6. The radars will now be created, saved to the configuration and added to the PPI display. Depending on how many have been created this may take a few seconds. Once complete, each radar can be selected, edited and re-positioned if required. In addition, all the advanced options are now available for configuration.

Connection types:

Local

This means the tracking software will be running on a PC or server, managed by the Track Engine service. Typically this means the tracking software is centralised and has to make a high bandwidth connection to the radar. You only need to provide the connection details of the radar for this connection type. Note also that the servers being used in the data centre must be sufficiently powerful enough to run the required number of trackers.

This connection type is also used for playing back radar data recordings where no radars or EPUs are required.

Remote

This means the tracking software is running is running on a remote EPU. The EPU is a small embedded single board computer which is usually located with or close to the radar. The EPU makes a high bandwidth connection to the radar but a low bandwidth connection to the rest of the software. You need to provide connection details of the EPU and the radar for this type of connection.

On-Board

This means the tracking software is running on the radar sensor itself. This feature is only available with the CTS-350X version 4.0 and newer. In this setup the high bandwidth connection is inside the radar and the only a low bandwidth connection is used to link to the rest of the system. You only need to provide the connection details of the radar for this connection type.

Understanding Modes

Basic

This mode requires a manual input of all values. Once these have been determined, press Next. This display will appear:

The name and the range of the radar will have been assumed, but they can edited later. You will need to manually input the IP Address and the Port number for each radar added. The connection status can also be changed via the dropdown.

Auto Discover

This mode automatically adds radar by discovery through a discovery message sent by the radar through the network, using multicast. These messages are detected by the track engine and reported to the Witness 4.0 software. In order for this mode to work, radars must be physically installed, powered on and connected to the network.

If the radar is in secure mode, discovery broadcast is disabled.

Import from File

This mode gives you the opportunity to insert a radar group via Excel Spreadsheet saved as a Comma Separated Values file. After you choose Import from File from the top dropdown, fill out the other dropdowns before clicking Next. The 'browse files' window will then pop up, and you can select your .csv.

Your desired radar configuration should be set out like this:

This method is a reliable option if large groups of radar are being installed, as there is no limit to the number of radar that can be tabled in Excel. The results will appear in a Radar Details display screen, similar to the one above, for you to review.

Locating an Existing Radar

To display existing radar you can:

  1. Select the appropriate Radar Group folder in the Configuration Tree whilst on the Configuration page. This will display a list of all radar within that group. Like with all items on the display, they can be located in the PPI by double-clicking on them in the group lists or the in the configuration tree. This will automatically pan the display to show the selected object in the middle of the display.

  2. Do a quick search for a radar. Open the Quick Search using the Keyboard Shortcut Ctrl + Alt + F. You can select your object type which will filter automatically and / or you can start typing the object name to narrow the search. To locate an object listed in the search results, double click the entry.

     

  3. Select the radar directly on the display.

Configuring a Radar

To edit a radar:

  1. Select the appropriate Radar Group and select the Settings button. This will open the Radar Group dialog:

     

  2. Select the appropriate radar from the list and select the Edit button to make changes. See https://navtechradar.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/TUN/pages/206439209 for more information.

  3. Once complete, select Save. If you wish to undo your changes, select Cancel.

The Radar Group dialog is not modal and is a floating dialogue. This means you will be able to move it around the screen allowing you to interact with the main display when this dialog is open. This will help when positioning the radar, for example. In addition, if you double click on any radar in the dialog list then it will be automatically located on the main display.

Editing Multiple Radar

It is possible to select more than one radar when viewing and editing the settings. This option will allow you to change some of the settings enmasse.

To do this:

  1. Select the radar group and click Settings:

     

  2. The radar group dialog will open:

     

  3. Highlighting several radars will allow you to edit certain settings of these radar together. See https://navtechradar.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/TUN/pages/206439209 for more information regarding these options.

     

  4. When the Update Debris option is selected then the options applicable to the debris channel along with options common to all channels will become available to edit. And when applied they will only apply to the debris channels on the selected radar. If you don't select the debris channel then all the changes, where relevant, will apply to all the non-debris channels on the selected radar.

     

  5. To select a value to change, you must first select the relevant Apply checkbox. This will enable the field. Only values where apply has been selected will be updated on the selected radar:

Radar Data Mini Control

The Radar Data Mini Control displays data about the selected radar.

 

Radar Name: The name of the radar e.g. Radar 001.

Status: The health status of the radar.

Locate: Clicking this will display the location of the radar and it’s configured range on the PPI map.

Help: Documentation: This button provides a link to related documentation.

Minimise/Maximise: This will minimise or maximise this dialogue.

Bearing: The determination of the direction of the radar.

Range: This is the area of radar coverage. See for more information.

Sensor Allocation: This is a toggle to show/hide the sensors on the carriageway. If it is selected then the button turns from grey to blue. See for further details.

Distribute Tracks: Select this to display the tracks on the PPI. If it is selected then the button turns from grey to blue.

Radar Data: This allows you to choose the type of radar data that is displayed on the PPI Map and is updated on every rotation. If one of the options is selected then the button turns from grey to blue.

Channel 1(+): In ClearWay™, there will be as many channels as you have carriageways. Each carriageway's channel can be individually configured with the resulting data displayed. Please refer to this documentation for further insight: . For AdvanceGuard® you can create as many channels per radar as you require, and each can be configured independently.
Raw: This shows all of the unprocessed data that has been collected by the radar.

Clutter Map: This is a record of static, unchanging objects that are within view of the radar sensor. Please see .

Clutter Floor: This is a capture of the environment including all unchanging objects which provides a mathematical floor for the clutter map. The values within the dynamic clutter map cannot reduce below this floor. The floor does not change unless it is manually updated. Here is a link to more information which includes Capture Floor Schedule: and another for information about how to capture a Clutter Floor: .

Debris Channel: This is the dedicated clutter map for the debris channel. It works like the normal tracking clutter map but has more aggressive update settings to help the detection of debris: .

With one of the Radar Data options selected then a slider to select how brightly the data is displayed becomes available:

If the radar settings are being edited, then other options are available:

Contour: When selected, the contour area will rotate with the radar data.

Rotation: The angle of rotation configured on this radar.

Delta: This is the movement delta for the radar Rotation buttons on the PPI (circled in pink below) and also for the Rotation arrow buttons (outlined in pink below) on this mini control. So, if you set the delta to 5 it will rotate the angle by 5 degrees on every button click.

 

Safety is everything.