Multichannel adaptive signal detection jointly uses the test and training data to form an adaptive detector, and then make a decision on whether a target exists or not. Remarkably, the resulting adaptive detectors usually possess the constant false alarm rate (CFAR) properties, and hence no additional CFAR processing is needed. Filtering is not needed as a processing procedure either, since the function of filtering is embedded in the adaptive detector. Moreover, adaptive detection usually exhibits better detection performance than the filtering-then-CFAR detection technique. Multichannel adaptive signal detection has been more than 30 years since the first multichannel adaptive detector was proposed by Kelly in 1986. However, there are fewer overview articles on this topic. In this paper we give a tutorial overview of multichannel adaptive signal detection, with emphasis on Gaussian background. We present the main deign criteria for adaptive detectors, investigate the relationship between adaptive detection and filtering-then-CFAR detection, relationship between adaptive detectors and adaptive filters, summarize typical adaptive detectors, show numerical examples, give comprehensive literature review, and discuss some possible further research tracks.
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