Novel modeling method using set theory for interference study between multiple FMCW radars

Abstract

Recently, the number of systems based on FMCW radar technology has been increasing dramatically, due in part to the availability of low-cost development and evaluation kits that permit rapid prototyping and testing of radar-based applications. In a real scenario where it is possible to have multiple radars emitting simultaneously, interference between radars can arise due to the periodic nature of FMCW. Moreover, FMCW radars take advantage of the large bandwidth in order to achieve a high resolution in range. Therefore, the probability of two radars using the same spectrum range simultaneously is very high. In this work, the interference between FMCW radars systems is investigated using set theory. The FMCW signals are modeled as sets of time-frequency tuples and they are described as sets, reducing the analysis complexity of the interference between multiple radars. The proposed model was implemented in MATLAB and it was compared and validated in real scenarios with two radars operating and producing interference in the same indoor environment. It is shown that set theory considerable reduces the simulation time in comparison to traditional methods.