Challenges in Automotive MIMO Radar Calibration in Anechoic Chamber

Abstract

Radars are a major sensor for autonomous driving and active safety. High-angular resolution is the main challenge of the state-of-the-art automotive multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) radars. Therefore, MIMO radar sensor array calibration is critical for automotive radar efficiency. Anechoic chamber-based methods for automotive radar testing and calibration are widely used for automotive applications. These methods typically involve a radar target simulator with separate transmit and receive antennas. Frequently, a radar target simulator is located within a relatively small anechoic chamber, compromising the automotive radar's far-field operation conditions. Furthermore, displaced transmit and receive antennas of the radar target simulator induce differences in the steering direction from the radar toward them. This work investigates the effects of these phenomena on automotive radar performance, proposes a method to model them, and introduces the approach to mitigate them.