Barbi - a New Microwave Precollision Sensor for Airbag Activation in Automobiles

This paper describes a novel and low-cost scheme for automotive precollision sensing called BARBI, an acronym for BAseband Radar Bag Initiator. The proposed technique involves the transmission and reception of a sub-nanosecond baseband or video impulse-like signal (i.e., no rf carrier) and requires virtually no microwave components. The very fast signal risetime permits leading edge resolution on approaching vehicles of much less than a foot; closing velocity is obtained by using range-rate techniques. By incorporating sequential range gating techniques, the false alarm rate can be reduced to one in ten years or less for all the cars in the U. S. today.