Challenges and Compromises of Radar Video Distribution Over Networks

Distributing radar video over a standard Ethernet network has many advantages in terms of simplified cabling and ease of integration. Radar systems that generate analogue signals, including many legacy radars, may convert to digital to simplify the distribution process. Consideration then needs to be given to how that conversion is done and whether compression is used as part of the coding. For modern radars generating digital data directly, use of standard transport protocols such as TCP and UDP ensures simplified connectivity but does not necessarily enable third party access to the data that is distributed. Accessing the Network Data Modern radars generate digital video that may be distributed from sensor to display using standard TCP/UDP protocols over Ethernet using wired or wireless connections. However, simply saying that the radar is distributed using these standards, whilst appearing reassuring on a data sheet, does not necessarily make the data accessible to third parties. It could be encoded or compressed in a proprietary way, meaning it is only accessible by using vendor-supplied libraries and perhaps requiring a license. The use of Ethernet helps the distribution...