Array Location Uncertainty in Imaging Radar: SAR vs. MIMO-SAR

Abstract

In this paper, we consider a type of MIMO-SAR architecture in which the elements are arranged along the axis of platform motion. We show that this architecture can be used to improve the robustness and accuracy of angular estimation compared to single-element SAR given array location uncertainty. We compare three different architectures for side-looking radars (SAR, SIMO, and SIMO-SAR) and show that in the presence of array location uncertainty, SIMO-SAR proves more resilient. Measurement results using a commercial automotive radar module have been performed to verify this effect.