Compact 3D MIMO radar — Antenna array design and experimental results

We present a compact multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) radar sensor for near- to medium-range three-dimensional (3D) radar imaging and target object detection. The MIMO radar sensor contains 16 transmit (Tx) and 16 receive (Rx) antenna elements and employs a frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) modulation scheme. Orthogonality between the transmitted signals is ensured by means of a time-division multiplexing (TDM) scheme. First, a brief description of the overall system architecture is given. Then, two distinctive antenna array designs are discussed, which address different design objectives. Finally, selected experimental results from our measurement campaigns are presented, which highlight the angular resolution and 3D imaging capability achieved by our MIMO radar sensor.