Three-Dimensional Velocity Measurement Using a Dual Axis Millimeter-Wave Interferometric Radar

• Published in: IEEE transactions on microwave theory and techniques 2022-03, Vol.70 (3), p.1674-1685
• Main Authors: Merlo, Jason, Klinefelter, Eric, Nanzer, Jeffrey A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Angular velocity; Angular velocity estimation; Antenna measurements; Antennas; interferometric radar; Interferometry; Millimeter waves; millimeter-wave radar; multidimensional radar; Radar; Radar antennas; Radar arrays; Radar tracking; Radial velocity; Receiving antennas; Trajectory analysis; Velocity; Velocity measurement
• ISSN: 0018-9480; 1557-9670
• DOI: 10.1109/TMTT.2021.3124251

In this work, a method for directly measuring target velocity in three dimensions using a dual axis correlation interferometric radar is presented. Recent advances have shown that the measurement of a target's angular velocity is possible by correlating the signals measured at spatially diverse aperture locations. By utilizing multiple orthogonal baselines and using conventional Doppler velocity methods to obtain radial velocity, a full 3-D velocity vector can be obtained using only three receive antennas and a single transmitter, without the need for tracking. A 41.8-GHz dual axis interferometric radar with a {7.26\lambda } antenna baseline is presented along with measurements of a target moving parallel to the plane of the radar array, and of a target moving with components of both radial and tangential velocity. These experiments achieved total velocity root-mean-square errors (RMSEs) of 41.01 mm \cdot \,\,\text{s}^{-1} (10.5%) for a target moving along a plane parallel to the array, and 45.07 mm \cdot \,\,\text{s}^{-1} (13.5%) for a target moving with components of radial and tangential motion relative to the array; estimated trajectory angle RMSEs of 10.42° and 5.11° were achieved for each experiment.