One-Bit Radar Processing with Time-Varying Sampling Thresholds

TL;DR

This paper introduces a new method for radar target parameter estimation using one-bit ADCs with time-varying thresholds, enabling low-cost, high-speed radar sensing.

Contribution

It proposes a novel target estimation approach with one-bit ADCs employing time-varying thresholds, formulated as a weighted-least-squares optimization problem.

Findings

Effective target estimation demonstrated through numerical results.

Potential for low-cost, high-speed radar systems.

Algorithm convergence and accuracy validated.

Abstract

Target parameter estimation in active sensing, and particularly radar signal processing, is a long-standing problem that has been studied extensively. In this paper, we propose a novel approach for target parameter estimation in cases where one-bit analog-to-digital-converters (ADCs), also known as signal comparators with time-varying thresholds, are employed to sample the received radar signal instead of high-resolution ADCs. The considered problem has potential applications in the design of inexpensive radar and sensing devices in civilian applications, and can likely pave the way for future radar systems employing low-resolution ADCs for faster sampling and high-resolution target determination. We formulate the target estimation as a multivariate weighted-least-squares optimization problem that can be solved in a cyclic manner. Numerical results are provided to exhibit the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms.