In a previous study, we proposed a new method based on copula theory to evaluate the detection performance of distributed-processing multistatic radar systems, in which the dependence of local decisions was modeled by a Gaussian copula with linear dependence and no tail dependence. However, we also noted that one main limitation of the study was the lack of investigations on the tail-dependence and nonlinear dependence among local detectors' inputs whose densities have long tails and are often used to model clutter and wanted signals in high-resolution radars. In this work, we attempt to overcome this shortcoming by extending the application of the proposed method to several types of multivariate copula-based dependence models to clarify the effects of tail-dependence and different dependence models on the system detection performance in detail. Our careful analysis provides two interesting and important clarifications: first, the detection performance degrades significantly with tail dependence; and second, this degradation mainly originates from the upper tail dependence, while the lower tail and nonlinear dependence unexpectedly improve the system performance.

In this paper, we propose a new method based on copula theory to evaluate the detection performance of a distributed-processing multistatic radar system (DPMRS). By applying the Gaussian copula to model the dependence of local decisions in a DPMRS as well as data fusion rules of AND, OR, and K/N, the performance of a DPMRS for detecting Swerling fluctuating targets can be easily evaluated even under non-Gaussian clutter with a nonuniform dependence matrix. The reliability and flexibility of this method are validated by applying the proposed method to a previous problem by other authors, and our other investigation results indicate its high potential for evaluating DPMRS performance in various cases involving different models of target and clutter.

Although many approaches about ideal channels have been proposed in previous researches, few authors considered the situation of nonideal communication links. In this paper, we study the problem of distributed decision fusion over nonideal channels by using the scan statistics. In order to obtain the fusion rule under nonideal channels, we set up the nonideal channels model with the modulation error, noise and signal attenuation. Under this model, we update the fusion rule by using the scan statstics. We firstly consider the fusion rule when sensors are distributed in grid, then derive the expressions of the detection probability and false alarm probability when sensors follow an uniform distribution. Extensive simulations are conducted in order to investigate the performance of our fusion rule and the influence of signal-noise ratio (SNR) on the detection and false alarm probability. These simulations show that the theoretical values of the global detection probability and the global false alarm probability are close to the experimental results, and the fusion rule also has high performance at the high SNR region. But there are some further researches need to do for solving the large computational complexity.

The multiterminal hypothesis testing problem with zero-rate constraint is considered. For this problem, an upper bound on the optimal error exponent is given by Shalaby and Papamarcou, provided that the positivity condition holds. Our contribution is to prove that Shalaby and Papamarcou's upper bound is valid under a weaker condition: (i) two remote observations have a common random variable in the sense of Gácks and Körner, and (ii) when the value of the common random variable is fixed, the conditional distribution of remaining random variables satisfies the positivity condition. Moreover, a generalization of the main result is also given.

In Distributed detection systems, restricting the output of the local decision to one bit certainly implies a substantial information loss. In this paper, we consider the fuzzy detection, which uses a function called membership function for mapping the observation space of each local detector to a value between 0 and 1, indicating the degree of assurance about presence or absence of a signal. In this case, we examine the problem of distributed Maximum Likelihood (ML) and Order Statistic (OS) constant false alarm rate (CFAR) detections using fuzzy fusion rules such as "Algebraic Product"(AP), "Algebraic Sum"(AS), "Union"(Un) and "Intersection"(IS) in the fusion centre. For the Weibull clutter, the expression of the membership function based on the ML or OS CFAR processors in the local detectors is also obtained. For comparison, we consider a binary distributed detector, which uses the Maximum Likelihood and Algebraic Product (MLAP) or Order Statistic and Algebraic Product (OSAP) CFAR processors as the local detectors. In homogenous and non homogenous situations, multiple targets or clutter edge, the performances of the fuzzy and binary distributed detectors are analyzed and compared. The simulation results indicate the superior and robust performance of the distributed systems using fuzzy detection in the homogenous and non homogenous situations.

This paper studies the necessity of local CFAR processing in CFAR detection with multisensors. This necessity is shown by comparison between centralized CFAR detection and the distributed CFAR detection scheme based on local CFAR processing, under three typical backgrounds and in several cases of mismatching ρ, the relative ratio of local clutter power level in sensors in a homogeneous background. Results show that centralized CFAR processing can not be considered as CFAR without exact prior knowledge of ρ. In addition, even if the knowledge of ρ is available, the great difference among local clutter power levels can also result in severe performance degradation of centralized CFAR processing. In contrast, the distributed CFAR detection based on local CFAR processing is not affected by ρ at all, a fact which was proposed in a previous published paper. Therefore, the CFAR processing must be made locally in sensors for CFAR detection with multisensors.