Terahertz Radar Cross Section Measurement and Digital Twin Simulation for Advanced Insect Monitoring

Insect populations are facing significant global declines due to various factors such as habitat loss, climate change, and pollution, making their monitoring crucial for safeguarding essential ecological systems and protecting human health. Radar systems are preferred for insect monitoring because they are non-invasive, have a large detection range, and can operate both day and night. In this paper, we present the experimental validation of insect radar cross section (RCS) measurements at the terahertz (THz) band. These measurements are conducted using a THz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS) system as reference system, enabling the capture of finer details and distinctions of small insects. To classify different insects, radar digital twins are used to generate radar data, which can then be fed into machine learning classifiers. This study offers valuable insights for future detection and classification of small insects across different environments.