Radar Target Simulator Based on Instantaneous Intra-Chirp FMCW Parameter Estimation

The increase in radar-based automotive safety features and the shift toward autonomous driving create a need for advanced testing capabilities of radar sensors for workshops. Modulation-based radar target simulators (RTSs) offer an alternative method for the simulation of radar targets for frequency-modulated continuous wave (FMCW)-based radar sensors, but they require knowledge of the sensor's modulation parameters. While this is currently achieved with prior information or via the analysis of multiple ramps, we present a way to estimate the relevant parameters instantaneously during a frequency ramp. This is critical to ensure the compatibility of sensors with more complex chirp sequences, including the use of multiple, different chirp rates or randomized repetition rates. An experimental implementation is presented to demonstrate the concept.