Quantized Time Delay for Target Localization in Cloud MIMO Radar

In this work, target localization is studied for cloud multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) radar. Unlike previous work which quantizes local received signals, to reduce the communication burden, this paper proposes to quantize local time delays for cloud MIMO radar parameter estimation. At each local sensor, the time delay of the signal traveling from the transmitter and returning to the receiver is estimated and quantized prior to transmission to the fusion center. The target location is estimated using the quantized time delay estimates at the fusion center, and the corresponding Cramer-Rao bound (CRB) is derived. Compared with existing methods based on received signal quantization, the proposed time delay quantization-based method can provide enhanced performance.