Radar Resolution Enhancement Based on Burg-Aided MIMO-DBS and Burg-Aided MIMO-SAR

Area of Science:

• Sensor technology
• Autonomous systems
• Radar imaging

Background:

• Autonomous systems need high-resolution sensors for situational awareness in all conditions.
• Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) radars offer good angular resolution but require higher cross-range resolution for close targets.
• Existing Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and Doppler Beam Sharpening (DBS) improve off-boresight resolution, but boresight resolution remains a challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a super-resolution technique for enhancing MIMO radar cross-range resolution, particularly in the critical boresight direction.
• To combine the Burg algorithm with MIMO-SAR and MIMO-DBS data for improved imaging.
• To evaluate the technique's performance across different data domains and image formation methods.

Main Methods:

• Integration of the Burg algorithm with MIMO-SAR and MIMO-DBS data.
• Application to both frequency and time domain data.
• Utilizing back-projection (BP) and DBS image formation processing.

Main Results:

• Significant enhancement of cross-range resolution in the boresight direction.
• Further improved cross-range resolution in off-boresight directions.
• Validation of the technique through simulations, lab, and real-world experiments at 77 GHz.

Conclusions:

• The proposed Burg algorithm-based technique effectively enhances MIMO radar cross-range resolution for autonomous systems.
• The method provides superior performance in critical boresight scenarios and challenging environments.
• Experimental validation confirms the technique's viability for advanced situational awareness.