Range–Angle Processing for Target Detection in Joint MIMO-OFDM Communications and Sensing

Utilizing multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communication systems to jointly perform sensing will be a key ingredient in future mobile networks. To accommodate this, here we propose a signal processing approach for target detection in hybrid MIMO orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing communication systems. We utilize multiple transmit beams for communication users, while an additional beam is used simultaneously to sense the environment. Then, the reflections from the targets due to the transmitted streams are utilized at the MIMO receiver to obtain the range–angle map corresponding to the environment. Simulations depict that targets can be detected reliably using this approach. Moreover, it showcases that MIMO processing allows differentiating between very close targets in the angular domain, demonstrating the achievable super-resolution.