Knowledge Base
Q&A
Everything you need to know about interferometric radar monitoring — from basic principles to deployment best practices.
Technology
Can the radar work in rain, snow, or fog?
Yes. The radar operates in the microwave frequency range. Microwaves penetrate rain, snow, fog, and dust with negligible attenuation at operational ranges up to 2000 m. The system is designed for 24/7 all-weather autonomous operation.
Why does the radar not need corner reflectors?
Matrixens radar uses solid-state MIMO digital beamforming to illuminate the entire slope surface with a wide transmitted beam. The interferometric phase measurement directly extracts deformation from natural surface scatterers — rocks, vegetation, soil — without requiring artificial targets.
Deployment
How is the radar powered in remote locations?
Matrixens radars are ultra-low-power (8–25 W average) and can be powered entirely by solar. A typical setup uses a 100 W solar panel + 640 Wh battery, providing indefinite autonomous operation without grid power or generator.
I
Interferometric Phase
The phase difference between two successive radar measurements of the same scene. Because the radar wavelength is small (millimeter-scale), a phase shift of just a few degrees corresponds to sub-millimeter line-of-sight displacement. Interferometric phase measurement is the core principle enabling 0.1–1 mm deformation accuracy without physical targets.
M
MIMO
Multiple-Input Multiple-Output — a radar architecture using multiple transmit and receive antennas to form a virtual array much larger than the physical aperture. MIMO enables digital beamforming (electronic scanning without moving parts), higher angular resolution, and simultaneous full-field-of-view illumination — key advantages over traditional mechanically-scanned radar.
R
Range Resolution
The minimum distance between two scatterers along the radar's line-of-sight that can be distinguished as separate targets. Matrixens radars achieve 0.15 m range resolution through wideband FMCW modulation, enabling precise localization of deformation zones on the slope.