Measurement of Pedestrian Targets in Terms of Radar Cross Section

Abstract

In terms of vehicle radars, the most important properties of targets are speed, distance, and radar cross section. Based on the Radar Cross Section (RCS), the type of the object can be identified with a good approximation: pedestrian, bicycle, car, truck even in extreme weather conditions. A radar cross section measures the reflectivity of an object and its numerical value is equal to the area of the cross section of a conducting sphere with the same reflectivity. Its value depends on the material and shape of the object, the angle of illumination, and the ratio between the wavelength and the size of the object. The article presents a measurement system for radar targets, the main component of which is an automotive radar. In addition, the evaluation software for the measurement system, which was created in the MATLAB / SIMULINK environment, will be presented. The measurement system was used to perform various measurements on the ZalaZONE Automotive Proving Ground (Zalaegerszeg, HUNGARY), the evaluation of which will be presented. The purpose of the measurements is to collect information about the radar cross-section values of pedestrians at different distances from the vehicle and dummies simulating them. A comparison of different pedestrians is presented. After that, we will show how even if a puppet is formally similar to a pedestrian, the RCS can show a different value.