Multi-Beam Automotive SAR Imaging in Urban Scenarios

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that multi-beam automotive SAR imaging can achieve centimeter-level accuracy in urban environments, enabling detailed target discrimination for autonomous driving using a 77 GHz MIMO radar.

Contribution

It presents an experimental assessment of multi-beam SAR imaging in urban scenarios with a mass-market automotive radar, showing high accuracy and target discrimination capabilities.

Findings

Centimeter-level accuracy in urban SAR imaging

Effective target discrimination based on angular scattering

Feasibility of multi-beam SAR for autonomous driving

Abstract

Automotive synthetic aperture radar (SAR) systems are rapidly emerging as a candidate technological solution to enable a high-resolution environment mapping for autonomous driving. Compared to lidars and cameras, automotive-legacy radars can work in any weather condition and without an external source of illumination, but are limited in either range or angular resolution. SARs offer a relevant increase in angular resolution, provided that the ego-motion of the radar platform is known along the synthetic aperture. In this paper, we present the results of an experimental campaign aimed at assessing the potential of a multi-beam SAR imaging in an urban scenario, composed of various targets (buildings, cars, pedestrian, etc.), employing a 77 GHz multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) radar platform based on a mass-market available automotive-grade technology. The results highlight a centimeter-level accuracy of the SAR images in realistic driving conditions, showing the possibility to use a multi-angle focusing approach to detect and discriminate between different targets based on their angular scattering response.