UWB Waveform for Automotive Short Range Radar

Abstract

The use of UWB technology in radar applications enables the development of low cost radar systems with multiple applications in different areas. The main problem encountered when using UWB technology is the choice of the appropriate waveform for the intended application, i.e. the waveform that gives the best results in terms of accuracy and reliability while respecting the concept of simplicity of design and low cost. In this article, it is proposed to study certain types of waveforms used in the vehicular context, such as Gaussian pulses and orthogonal polynomials, in order to select the most appropriate waveform for UWB detection in road traffic. The choice of the waveform is based on the principle of correlation of each pulse with itself after its passage in the V2V channel which reflects the real environment, and it focuses on a measurement of the peak width of autocorrelation, which translates the similarity between the transmitted signal and its reference, in order to choose the one that gives the best performance in terms of precision and simplicity for the radar detection functionality. The simulation results allows seeing that the monocycle is the most suited waveform to the vehicular context thanks to its very fine autocorrelation peak, which allows better precision for the obstacle detection and classification function.