Abstract: A method for controlling laws of illumination of a radar antenna with adjustable gain and/or phase, suitable for sending and for receiving a radar signal, the method including obtaining a position of an obstacle located in a near field of a beam of the radar antenna according to a direction of aim of said beam, calculating the laws of illumination on sending and on receiving of said radar antenna so as to adjust the direction of the aim of the radar beam while minimizing interaction and/or effects between the beam of the radar antenna and the obstacle, and implementing the calculated laws of illumination on sending and on receiving of the radar antenna.

Abstract: The invention targets a method of processing a radar image obtained from a radar. It comprises an automatic evaluation of the altitude of the isotherm at zero degrees Celsius, called zero isotherm, using a processing of the reflectivity information (rf(px)) conveyed by pixels (px) forming all or part of the radar image.

Abstract: A method of correcting the reflectivity measurements performed by a radar such as a weather radar, a reflectivity measurement being associated with a resolution volume includes analyzing the current resolution volume to determine whether the plane representing the 0° C. isotherm passes through it. When the plane representing the 0° C. isotherm passes through the current resolution volume, the volume is split into two parts lying on either side of said plane, the attenuation associated with the resolution volume is determined by taking into account the contribution of each of the parts to the measured reflectivity. The reflectivity associated with the current resolution volume is corrected using the attenuation thus determined. An onboard weather radar implements the method.

Abstract: A method of correcting reflectivity measurements performed by a radar, such as a weather radar, includes a reflectivity measurement being associated with a resolution volume. The method includes acquiring the reflectivity measurement Zm corresponding to the current resolution volume, estimating the attenuation kc introduced by the cloud droplets, said estimating being carried out by using an average vertical profile of the cloud liquid water content, estimating the attenuation kg,O2 introduced by dioxygen, estimating the attenuation kg,H2O introduced by the water vapor, determining the total specific attenuation k of the non-detectable components taking into account the attenuation kc, the attenuation kg,O2 and the attenuation kg,H2O estimated in the preceding steps, and correcting the measured reflectivity taking into account the estimated total specific attenuation k. The method may be implemented by an onboard weather radar.

Abstract: The method processes measured vertical profiles of the power of the echoes returned following a transmission of radar signals, each measured vertical profile being a function of the sweep angle of the radar beam and associated with a given pointing angle/distance box pair of the radar beam. The method generates a synthetic vertical profile of the power of the echoes returned by the ground only, and includes, for each measured vertical profile: superposition of the synthetic vertical profile on the measured vertical profile in question, for various values of the sweep angle, calculation of the error that exists between the measured vertical profile and the synthetic vertical profile, for each sweep angle value in question, and an exclusion, from the measured vertical profile, of the values for which the calculated error is less than a given threshold, in order to generate a resultant vertical profile with no ground echoes.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method of characterizing the convection intensity of a cloud by a meteorological radar.

Abstract: The disclosure relates to a meteorological system and a method of generation with progressive prediction of data relating to the meteorological situation around a carrier. In at least one embodiment, the method includes reading data relating to the speed of the carrier and to the cloud formations and calculating for each cloud formation the geographical position and the vector of voluminal parameters predicted at a given time horizon. The time horizon is dependent for each cloud formation on the speed of the carrier and the distance separating the cloud formation from the carrier. The method also includes generating a mapping including a representation corresponding to the calculated geographical position and to the calculated vector of voluminal parameters of each cloud formation.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method for determining the angular aperture corresponding to the extent in a plane of an object seen by a radar antenna, the object being situated at a given distance from the radar antenna. Echoes are measured in directions ? p - ?? 2 ? ? and ? ? ? p + ?? 2 of the plane, where ?p is a variable angle corresponding to directions of the plane and ?? is a given angular aperture. The pairwise differences are calculated between the echo measurements taken in the directions ? p - ?? 2 ? ? and ? ? ? p + ?? 2 . The slope is determined at a value ?p of a function e of ?p interpolated between the calculated differences, the angular aperture which corresponds to the extent of the object at the given distance being deduced from the slope. The invention has an application in meteorological radar.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method for predicting a trend of a meteorological phenomenon on the basis of data originating from a meteorological radar. The method includes at least the following steps: a first step of extracting gray level skeletons from images representing the data of the radar; a second step of associating characteristic data indicative of the state of the meteorological system with the gray level local extrema points; a third step of pairing each gray level skeleton of the two successive images; a fourth step of predicting future positions of the forms of the images; a fifth step of predicting trend data of the meteorological system; and a sixth step of representing the information originating from the sixth tracking step. The invention can notably be applied to the establishment of a prediction of trend of a cloud mass. The prediction of the trend of a meteorological situation may be presented to a pilot of an aircraft.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method for determining the angular aperture corresponding to the extent in a plane of an object seen by a radar antenna, the object being situated at a given distance from the radar antenna. Echoes are measured in directions ? p - ?? 2 ? ? and ? ? ? p + ?? 2 of the plane, where ?p is a variable angle corresponding to directions of the plane and ?? is a given angular aperture. The pairwise differences are calculated between the echo measurements taken in the directions ? p - ?? 2 ? ? and ? ? ? p + ?? 2 . The slope is determined at a value ?p of a function e of ?p interpolated between the calculated differences, the angular aperture which corresponds to the extent of the object at the given distance being deduced from the slope. The invention has an application in meteorological radar.

Abstract: A method of fabricating an antenna including a plurality of radiating waveguides disposed so that their wave paths are parallel two by two and including a feed waveguide having a wave path forming a flat zigzag serpentine pattern. The feed waveguide is disposed against the radiating waveguides so that a longitudinal axis of the feed waveguide pattern intersects the radiating waveguides at an angle of substantially 90 degrees. The feed waveguide includes coupling elements on its face in contact with the radiating waveguides. The radiating waveguides are straight and the straight portions of the zigzag wave path in the feed waveguide form a non-zero angle with the wave paths of the radiating waveguides, so that the coupling elements feed the radiating waveguides.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method for beam formation by calculation. For each defective active module of rank ip, the missing samples of the microwave signal a(îp) are calculated by one or more non-adaptive interpolations using the samples coming from the active modules in nominal operating mode situated in the neighborhood of the defective active modules, the beam being formed as if the interpolated samples a(îp) were the real measurements. In particular, the invention is applicable to the compensation for the effects of failures of one or more active modules distributed over an antenna of a radar with electronic scanning. The method according to the invention can notably be implemented within an airborne weather radar.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method of characterizing the convection intensity of a cloud by a meteorological radar.

Abstract: Embodiments of the invention process a radar image arising from a radar antenna, by reading the reflectivity information associated with each pixel forming the radar image, processing the reflectivity information, pixel by pixel, with the aid of a first procedure. The method further includes a second processing of the radar image using a second procedure that includes extracting objects from the radar image, then calculating the extent and the position of each object, with the aid of an angular aperture between two signals. For each part of the radar image processed by the first procedure, corresponding to an extracted object, pixel within the result of the first procedure are replaced by corresponding pixels of the radar image processed by the second procedure, if the reflectivity value associated with the second pixel is greater than the reflectivity value of the first pixel, the parts of the radar image corresponding to zones situated at a distance greater than a given threshold from the radar antenna.

Abstract: A method for processing signals of an airborne radar includes a correction of the erroneous angle of pointing of the radar beam, comprising an evaluation of the error in the pointing angle for a constant height of the aerial transporter. For a given angle of scan, the method carrys out at least two series of measurements of the power of the echoes returned following the emission of radar signals, each series being associated with a given distance-bin, the measurements being dependent on the angle of pointing of the radar antenna, formulates a vertical profile of the power of the echoes returned for each series of measurements, and then on the basis of each vertical profile, measures the pointing angle corresponding to a power of the echoes returned by the ground alone, and calculates the error in the pointing angle on the basis of the measured pointing angles.

Abstract: The method processes measured vertical profiles of the power of the echoes returned following a transmission of radar signals, each measured vertical profile being a function of the sweep angle of the radar beam and associated with a given pointing angle/distance box pair of the radar beam. The method generates a synthetic vertical profile of the power of the echoes returned by the ground only, and includes, for each measured vertical profile: superposition of the synthetic vertical profile on the measured vertical profile in question, for various values of the sweep angle, calculation of the error that exists between the measured vertical profile and the synthetic vertical profile, for each sweep angle value in question, and an exclusion, from the measured vertical profile, of the values for which the calculated error is less than a given threshold, in order to generate a resultant vertical profile with no ground echoes.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method for storing measurements of a given type made by a radar, each measurement having been made at a position in a given coordinate system. The method comprises a step of accessing a structured data storage space, each location of which is addressable by a pair of positive integers and each location of which is able to store at least one evolution profile of the measurements of the given type as a function of altitude. It also comprises a meshing step which associates a ground position with a pair of positive integers allowing a location to be addressed. The method also comprises a step of modifying the content of the location with the pair of integers as its address by storing there an evolution profile such that for each ground position sufficiently close to the position associated with the pair and for which a measurement has been made at a certain altitude, the evolution profile provides approximately the measurement made at this altitude.

Abstract: The present invention relates to an antenna including a plurality of radiating waveguides disposed so that their wave paths are parallel two by two and including a feed waveguide having a wave path forming a flat zigzag serpentine pattern. The feed waveguide is disposed against the radiating waveguides so that a longitudinal axis of the feed waveguide pattern intersects the radiating waveguides at an angle of substantially 90 degrees. The feed waveguide includes coupling elements on its face in contact with the radiating waveguides. The radiating waveguides are straight and the straight portions of the zigzag wave path in the feed waveguide form a non-zero angle with the wave paths of the radiating waveguides, so that the coupling elements feed the radiating waveguides.

Abstract: The invention targets a method of processing a radar image obtained from a radar. It comprises an automatic evaluation of the altitude of the isotherm at zero degrees Celsius, called zero isotherm, using a processing of the reflectivity information (rf(px)) conveyed by pixels (px) forming all or part of the radar image.

Abstract: Embodiments of the invention process a radar image arising from a radar antenna, by reading the reflectivity information associated with each pixel forming the radar image, processing the reflectivity information, pixel by pixel, with the aid of a first procedure. The method further includes a second processing of the radar image using a second procedure that includes extracting objects from the radar image, then calculating the extent and the position of each object, with the aid of an angular aperture between two signals. For each part of the radar image processed by the first procedure, corresponding to an extracted object, pixel within the result of the first procedure are replaced by corresponding pixels of the radar image processed by the second procedure, if the reflectivity value associated with the second pixel is greater than the reflectivity value of the first pixel, the parts of the radar image corresponding to zones situated at a distance greater than a given threshold from the radar antenna.