A Simple Estimator of Multiple Target Positions for Automotive Short Range Radar Networks

For safety applications, automotive radar networks show an interesting potential. Apart from long range radars, networked short range radar systems are under development. Additional applications can be accomplished, such includes precrash detection, parking aid and blind spot surveillance. We research the automotive radar networks using short range radars. The network is built with multiple radars. In this paper, we consider data processing using measured ranges provided by the radars in order to estimate multiple target positions with high accuracy. Firstly, we derive a method based on MAP estimation. Secondly, we propose a method which reduces the calculation complexity compared to the above MAP method. Finally, we introduce a method which can detect targets with low undetected targets. The case often happens when the measured ranges are lost because of miss-detections. We evaluate the performance with computer simulations.