Behzad Yektakhah earns paper award for research in seeing through walls

ECE PhD student Behzad Yektakhah earned an honorable mention in the 2017 IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society Student Paper Competition for his paper, “All Directions Through the Wall Imaging Using Omnidirectional Bi-static FMCW Transceivers,” presented at the 2017 IEEE International Symposium on Antennas and Propagation and USNC-URSI Radio Science Meeting (APS/URSI 2017).

Working with Prof. Kamal Sarabandi, Behzad is working on a system to help us see through walls. Through-the-wall imaging is a popular field that enables better threat assessment in rescue and law enforcement settings. Behzad’s system improves on the speed, portability, and accuracy of many commercial models. While these systems are time consuming to set up and require you to move the antenna to collect data in different directions, this new system uses an all-directional antenna that can operate remotely from the middle of a room.

This allows the system to be accessed from outside the building, while gathering high-resolution data from an entire room at once. For his paper, Behzad fabricated and tested a fully-functioning imaging radar system. His other work on the project involves signal processing software to work on the collected data.

Behzad has been interested in studying wireless devices and satellite communication since high school. His interests in imaging come from his Master’s studies at the University of Tehran, where he did his thesis in the area. Prior to starting his PhD program in 2013, he worked on non-destructive testing systems based on ground penetrating radar (GPR) and magnetic flux leakage (MFL) for detection of underground pipe and oilt tank leaks for an inspection equipment company in Iran.