A robust narrowband transient signal detector

Th Wigner distribution (WD) is applied to the detection and localization in time of narrowband transient signals of unknown waveform in additive noise comprise of quasi-harmonic and random components. A traditional method of processing such signals is the spectrogram or short-time power spectrum. Based on the relationship between the spectrogram and the WD, the application of the WD to the detection problem is investigated. The smoothed-pseudo-WD is shown to provide the superior time and frequency resolutions of the received signals. By monitoring the received power in localized regions of the WD spectrum, a detector that achieves good time localization of the transient waveform and is relatively insensitive to changes in signal duration or frequency is obtained