Localization of Multi-Class On-Road and Aerial Targets Using mmWave FMCW Radar

Abstract

mmWave radars play a vital role in autonomous systems, such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), unmanned surface vehicles (USVs), ground station control and monitoring systems. The challenging task when using mmWave radars is to estimate the accurate angle of arrival (AoA) of the targets, due to the limited number of receivers. In this paper, we present a novel AoA estimation technique, using mmWave FMCW radars operating in the frequency range 77–81 GHz by utilizing the mechanical rotation. Rotating the radar also increases the field of view in both azimuth and elevation. The proposed method estimates the AoA of the targets, using only a single transmitter and receiver. The measurements are carried out in a variety of practical scenarios including pedestrians, a car, and an UAV, also known as a drone. With measured data, range-angle maps are created, and morphological operators are used to estimate the AoA of the targets. We also process radar range-angle images for improved visual representation. The proposed method will be extremely beneficial for practical ground stations, traffic control and monitoring frameworks for both on-ground and airborne vehicles.