Parameter measurements of moving targets using a 24-GHz radar

We designed a 24-GHz traffic surveillance radar (TSR-24) to monitor automobile and pedestrian. The range, radial velocity and direction-of-arrival (DOA) of the moving targets can be measured by the radar in real-time. The radar consists of a radar sensor, a waveform generation module, a filter and amplifier module and a digital signal processor (DSP) platform. The radar can be configured to work in Doppler mode or frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) mode through software configuration. The phase-monopulse approach is used for the target DOA estimation. A DOA error reduction method and the Rife method are proposed to improve the range and DOA accuracy. The parameter estimation algorithms are implemented in DSP. The radar is used to detect and track motorcycles, cars, trucks and even pedestrians. The measurement of an electric vehicle shows that the velocity error is 0.022 m/s. Various tests indicate that the range and DOA error is no more than 0.25 m and 1 degrees, respectively.