Application of radar for automotive collision avoidance. Volume 1: Technical report

Abstract

The purpose of this project was research and development of an automobile collision avoidance radar system. The major finding was that the application of radar to the automobile collision avoidance problem deserves continued research even though the specific approach investigated in this effort did not perform adequately in its angle measurement capability. Additional findings were that: (1) preliminary performance requirements of a candidate radar system are not unreasonable; (2) the number and severity of traffic accidents could be reduced by using a collision avoidance radar system which observes a fairly wide (at least + or - 10 deg) field of view ahead of the vehicle; (3) the health radiation hazards of a probable radar design are not significant even when a large number of radar-equipped vehicles are considered; (4) effects of inclement weather on radar operation can be accommodated in most cases; (5) the phase monopulse radar technique as implemented demonstrated inferior angle measurement performance which warrants the recommendation of investigating alternative radar techniques; and (6) extended target and multipath effects, which presumably distort the amplitude and phase distribution across the antenna aperture, are responsible for the observed inadequate phase monopulse radar performance