MIMO OFDM radar system for drone detection

Abstract

This paper presents a system setup based on MIMO OFDM radar that can be used for drone detection and detection of unpiloted aerial vehicles (UAVs) in general. In recent years UAVs have become more and more popular not only for commercial use but also as a private gadget. However, these drones can also be misused as a weapon by criminals, spies and terrorists. Therefore many research is done to be able to detect drones and prevent further harm. One possible approach is radar that has already been used successfully in automotive and military applications and offers many advantages like weather and daylight independent operation. It is also possible to detect drones that are emitting no electrical or optical signals. However, there are still many challenges that have to be solved before the implementation of reliably operating systems. This paper presents a system approach based on MIMO OFDM radar that can be used to survey large areas simultaneously and detect flying drones. Additionally, verification measurements with a drone in a real world scenario are presented demonstrating the successful operation of the system.