Ultra-wideband radar sensors and networks

1. A method for monitoring an area of interest, comprising:

placing a plurality of low power ultra wideband (UWB) radar motion sensors in an area of interest;

transmitting an UWB radar signal in said area and receiving said signal with at least one motion sensor of said motion sensors to produce a received signal;

analyzing said received signal to determine whether a movement has occurred within said area and producing an alarm signal if a motion has occurred within said area;

communicating said alarm signal to a wireless ad hoc network to produce a forwarded alarm signal, wherein said wireless ad hoc network comprises a mother node and a plurality of nodes, wherein the step of communicating said alarm signal to a wireless ad hoc network includes transmitting said alarm signal by UWB radar to said mother-node; and

transmitting said forwarded alarm signal to a destination.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein each sensor of said low power UWB radar motion sensors comprises a plurality of operatively connected electronics modules comprising a central processing module, a global positioning module, a transmitter and receiver communications module, a power and control module, and a radar detector sensor module.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein each sensor comprises an UWB transceiver.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of transmitting comprises continuously transmitting an UWB signal.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of transmitting comprises periodically transmitting an UWB signal.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein said wireless ad hoc network comprises a plurality of UWB transceiver nodes.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of transmitting said forwarded alarm signal to a destination includes communicating said forwarded alarm signal to a satellite to produce a satellite signal, wherein said satellite communicates said satellite signal to a destination.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of communicating said alarm signal to a wireless ad hoc network includes transmitting said alarm signal directly to an ad hoc node of said wireless ad hoc network.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein said wireless ad hoc network comprises a plurality of UWB transceiver nodes, wherein each node of said network is attached to a different sensor of said sensors.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein said transceiver comprises an omni-directional loop antenna.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein said sensor comprises a range gated radar sensor.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein said sensor comprises a dual range gate sensor.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein said sensor comprises a multiple range gate sensor.

14. The method of claim 1 , further comprising tracking the movement of the cause of an alarm.

15. The method of claim 14 , further comprising detecting the heart and/or respiration rate of the cause of said alarm.

16. An apparatus for monitoring an area of interest, comprising:

a plurality of low power ultra wideband (UWB) radar motion sensors for placement in an area of interest;

means for transmitting an UWB radar signal in said area wherein at least a portion of said signal can be received with at least one motion sensor of said motion sensors to produce a received signal;

means for analyzing said received signal to determine whether a movement has occurred within said area and producing an alarm signal if a motion has occurred within said area;

means for communicating at least a portion of said alarm signal to a wireless ad hoc network to produce a forwarded alarm signal, wherein said wireless ad hoc network comprises a mother node and a plurality of nodes, wherein said means for communicating at least a portion of said alarm signal to a wireless ad hoc network includes means for transmitting said alarm signal by UWB radar to said mother-node; and

means for transmitting said forwarded alarm signal to a destination.

17. The apparatus of claim 16 , wherein each sensor of said low power UWB radar motion sensors comprises a plurality of operatively connected electronics modules comprising a central processing module, a global positioning module, a transmitter and receiver communications module, a power and control module and a radar detector sensor module.

18. The apparatus of claim 16 , wherein each sensor comprises an UWB transceiver.

19. The apparatus of claim 16 , wherein said means for transmitting comprises means for continuously transmitting an UWB signal.

20. The apparatus of claim 16 , wherein said means for transmitting comprises means for periodically transmitting an UWB signal.

21. The apparatus of claim 16 , wherein said wireless ad hoc network comprises a plurality of UWB transceiver nodes.

22. The apparatus of claim 16 , wherein said means for transmitting said forwarded alarm signal to a destination includes means for communicating said forwarded alarm signal to a satellite to produce a satellite signal, wherein said satellite communicates said satellite signal to a destination.

23. The apparatus of claim 16 , wherein said wireless ad hoc network comprises a plurality of UWB transceiver nodes, wherein each node of said network is attached to a different sensor of said sensors.

24. The apparatus of claim 16 , wherein said transceiver comprises an omni-directional loop antenna.

25. The apparatus of claim 16 , wherein said sensor comprises a range gated radar sensor.

26. The apparatus of claim 16 , wherein said sensor comprises a dual range gate sensor.

27. The apparatus of claim 16 , wherein said sensor comprises a multiple range gate sensor.

28. The apparatus of claim 16 , further comprising means for tracking the movement of the cause of an alarm.

29. The apparatus of claim 28 , further comprising means for detecting the heart and/or respiration rate of the cause of said alarm.