Automotive FMCW Radar-Enhanced Range Estimation via a Local Resampling Fourier Transform

Abstract

In complex traffic scenarios, more accurate measurement and discrimination for an automotive frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) radar is required for intelligent robots, driverless cars and driver-assistant systems. A more accurate range estimation method based on a local resampling Fourier transform (LRFT) for a FMCW radar is developed in this paper. Radar signal correlation in the phase space sees a higher signal-noise-ratio (SNR) to achieve more accurate ranging, and the LRFT - which acts on a local neighbour as a refinement step - can achieve a more accurate target range. The rough range is estimated through conditional pulse compression (PC) and then, around the initial rough estimation, a refined estimation through the LRFT in the local region achieves greater precision. Furthermore, the LRFT algorithm is tested in numerous simulations and physical system experiments, which show that the LRFT algorithm achieves a more precise range estimation than traditional FFT-based algorithms, especially for lower bandwidth signals.