A high-range-resolution microwave radar system for traffic flow rate measurement

The estimation of traffic flow parameters is a fundamental problem in intelligent traffic systems. This paper presents a system based on a microwave radar with high range resolution and short sweep time to estimate the flow rate of traffic stream. Radar echoes are organized into sequential height images. The sequential height images contain all reflecting point information and thus give out detailed height distribution of echo intensity. By processing the height images with our vehicle detection and classification algorithms, passing vehicles can be automatically detected and simultaneously classified into eight types.