Extended Object Tracking Using Spatially Resolved Micro-Doppler Signatures

Abstract

Recent progress in radar development enable high-resolution radar sensors to resolve multiple detections for an extended object. One of the main challenges in radar-based object detection and tracking is the handling of an uncertain measurement model problem dealing with wandering dominant scatter points on the extended object surface depending on the relative orientation and motion. This phenomenon needs to be considered for near extended object tracking in critical driving situations, e.g., for safety applications, which require fast and accurate target state estimation in high dynamic scenarios. This paper presents a method to detect rotating wheels of approaching targets. Using the position and velocity of detected wheels as input for a tracking procedure, instead of target detections, relaxes the uncertain measurement model problem. A generic radar signal processing method to detect the position and bulk velocities of rotating wheels for approaching target vehicles is presented. The method evaluates the micro-Doppler signals, generated by rotating wheels, of close targets. These wheel hypotheses serve as input for a subsequent sequential Monte Carlo tracking framework. The presented methods are evaluated on real experimental data where a target vehicle is used to reconstruct safety-critical dynamic evading maneuvers.