Low cost and miniaturized helicopter near field obstacle warning radar

This paper reports for the first time on a novel development for a miniaturized and low cost near field obstacle warning sensor for helicopters based on an adapted electronically steerable automotive radar. All system components, from the RF-modules, to the baseband, signal processing algorithms and data visualization were developed and a complete radar prototype was built. First ground-based system field trials were successfully performed during which typical obstacles like overhead power lines, trees and poles were detected and visualized.