Aerospace and Electronic Systems Magazine April 2018 - 46

Feature Article:

DOI. No. 10.1109/MAES.2018.160277

Multifunctional and Compact 3D FMCW MIMO Radar
System With Rectangular Array for Medium-Range
Applications
Enric Miralles, Thomas Multerer, Alexander Ganis, Bernhard Schoenlinner, Ulrich
Prechtel, Airbus Group Innovations, Taufkirchen, Germany
Askold Meusling, Airbus Defence and Space, Taufkirchen, Germany
Jan Mietzner, Christian Weckerle, Airbus Defence and Space Electronics and Border
Security, Ulm, Germany
Hector Esteban, Universidad Politecnica de Valencia, Valencia, Spain
Martin Vossiek, Friedrich-Alexander Universitat Erlangen-Nurnberg, Erlangen, Germany
Mirko Loghik, University of Udine, Udine, Italy
Volker Ziegler, Airbus Group Innovations, Taufkirchen, Germany

INTRODUCTION
Ever since the era of autonomous systems started, multisensor platforms have become a key topic in aerospace, automotive, and robotics industries. Multifunctional systems integrate more than one
sensor and/or actuator in one device and are capable of creating
synergies between them. As a consequence, their performance is
superior compared to single-sensor systems, for different reasons
[1]-[3].
First, these systems can capture, process, and merge information from different perspectives that can complement one another.
Second, a more compact approach is possible, because the hardware required for additional functionalities can be integrated in unoccupied spaces of the main system. Third, a reduction of the costs
is possible in a multifunctional architecture, because part of the
Authors' current addresses: E. Miralles, T. Multerer, A. Ganis,
B. Schoenlinner, U. Prechtel, V. Ziegler, Airbus Group Innovations, Willy-Messerschmitt-Straße 1, 82024 Taufkirchen,
Germany, E-mail: (enric.miralles-navarro@airbus.com,
thomas.t.multerer@airbus.com). A. Meusling, Airbus Defence
and Space, Willy-Messerschmitt-Straße 1, 82024 Taufkirchen,
Germany. J. Mietzner, C. Weckerle, Airbus Defence and Space
Electronics and Border Security, Woerthstrasse 85, 89077 Ulm,
Germany. H. Esteban, Universidad Politecnica de Valencia,
Camino de Vera, s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain. M. Vossiek, Friedrich-Alexander Universitat Erlangen-Nurnberg, Cauerstraße 9,
91058 Erlangen, Germany. M. Loghik, University of Udine, Via
delle Scienze 206, 33100 Udine, Italy.
Manuscript received December 23, 2016, revised July 23, 2017,
and ready for publication July 25, 2017.
Review handled by P. Willett.
0885/8985/18/$26.00 © 2018 IEEE
46

hardware can be shared. For instance, the signal processing unit,
which includes the advanced reduced instruction set computing
machines (ARMs) and the field programmable gate array (FPGA)
or the power supply unit. Sharing hardware components can also
lead to a reduction in both power consumption and weight. To
summarize, size, weight, and power optimization can be achieved
with a proper design of a multifunctional system. This is of vital
importance and highly profitable for many applications.
One of the most popular sensors technologies is radar [4]
because of its all-weather capabilities and its ability to penetrate
material and provide a three-dimensional (3D) sensing of range,
azimuth, and elevation. A radar sensor can be combined with additional functionalities, depending on the task, such as a light source
(torch or laser pointer), a weapon, antennas for communication,
and a (thermo)camera. This article presents a system that combines
multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) radar [5] and a camera
mounted on a gimbal. This combination of sensors can ease the
task of change detection and classification of targets [6]-[8].
Some work has already been done in this field. For example, a
two-dimensional frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW)
[9] MIMO radar combined with a camera is presented in [10]. In
this architecture, the camera and the radar are not integrated into
one system. Instead, multiple systems operate together, rather than
forming one multifunctional system. Furthermore, the radar sensor used is not able to generate elevation information. In addition,
the presented device is bulky and not portable, which is highly
required for the targeted application. Another approach is shown
in [11]. Here, the system is intended for indoor use and shortrange applications. Like the previous system, it cannot estimate
the elevation of the target. Nevertheless, an increase in tracking
performance is shown by the combination of radar and camera capabilities through data fusion. Another system that deals with the

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