Time-Based Angle of Arrival Estimation Method for FMCW Radar

Marek Ciesielski

supervisor: Mateusz Malanowski

The paper presents a novel technique of angle of arrival (AoA) estimation, applicable to scenarios requiring large spatial separation of the antennas, such as interferometric ISAR (InISAR) imaging for non-cooperative target recognition (NCTR) applications. Large distances between the antennas pose a significant problem for methods based on phase difference, limiting the range of unambiguous angle measurement. The authors propose a solution for AoA estimation using elements of radar signal processing for determining the differences between the range to the target for particular receiving antennas. The proposed solution is not restricted by the ambiguities emerging from large separation between the antennas. The paper focuses on two variants of the proposed solution: the first based on traditional range estimation with center of mass and the second based on correlation between fragments of the range-Doppler map in different channels. Both solutions are described in detail in the paper. Simulations, as well as real measurements, are included and analyzed for evaluation of the performance of the proposed method. The paper is concluded with discussion of the obtained results.