Time-domain Analysis of Ultra-Wideband Scattering Properties of Fruits

In the present paper we evaluate scattering properties of fruits measured with a short-range Ultra-Wideband radar. This is part of our investigation how effectively such a radar can be used to infer information such as fruit biomass or ripeness in an agricultural environment. The covered frequency band spans from 1.4 to 5.6 GHz. We analyze measured impulse responses of a watermelon, a grapefruit, and an apple with respect to a dependency on the distance between radar and fruit and the observation angle i.e., rotation of the fruit. Measurements are performed under laboratory conditions, however, we analyze the data considering a pre-harvest analysis on a field. It becomes apparent that an analysis of the dispersed dominant reflection of the peel is most promising. Due to the natural growth and hence anisotropy of the fruits, we conclude to average over multiple monostatic observation angles to reduce the natural variations of e.g. the scattered power.