Sensing the Urban Environment by Automotive SAR Imaging: Potentials and Challenges

In this paper, we discuss the possibility of generating high-resolution mapping of urban (or extra-urban) environments by the application of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) processing concepts to the data collected by mm-wave automotive radars installed on-board commercial vehicles. The study is moti...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Remote sensing (Basel, Switzerland) Switzerland), 2022-08, Vol.14 (15), p.3602
Main Authors: Tebaldini, Stefano, Manzoni, Marco, Tagliaferri, Dario, Rizzi, Marco, Monti-Guarnieri, Andrea Virgilio, Prati, Claudio Maria, Spagnolini, Umberto, Nicoli, Monica, Russo, Ivan, Mazzucco, Christian
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Angular resolution
Antennas
Aperture
Automobiles
Automotive radar
Bandwidths
Commercial vehicles
Computer applications
Data acquisition
High resolution
Human error
Image resolution
Millimeter waves
MIMO radar
Moving targets
Radar
Radar equipment
Remote sensing
Sensors
Signal processing
Signal to noise ratio
Synthetic aperture radar
Urban environments
urban remote sensing
Vehicles
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Summary:In this paper, we discuss the possibility of generating high-resolution mapping of urban (or extra-urban) environments by the application of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) processing concepts to the data collected by mm-wave automotive radars installed on-board commercial vehicles. The study is motivated by the fact that radar sensors are becoming an indispensable component of the equipment of modern vehicles, being characterized by low cost, good performance, and affordable processing; therefore, in the future, nearly every single vehicle could be potentially equipped with radar devices capable of high-resolution imaging, enabled by application of SAR processing methodologies. Throughout this paper, we aim to discuss the role of SAR imaging in the automotive context under a theoretical and experimental perspective. First, we present the resulting benefits in terms of angular resolution and signal-to-noise ratio. Then, we discuss relevant technological aspects, such as suppression of angular ambiguities, fine estimation of platform motion, and SAR processing architectures, and we present a preliminary evaluation of the required computational costs. Finally, we will present a number of experimental results based on open road campaign data acquired using an 8-channel MIMO radar at 77 GHz, considering the cases of side-looking SAR, forward SAR, and SAR imaging of moving targets.
ISSN:2072-4292
2072-4292
DOI:10.3390/rs14153602