Your task
Until now mutual interference between automotive radar sensors has not been mentioned as a major problem, because only a limited number of cars are equipped with radar systems. However, with the increasing use of ADAS in small-size, middle-class and upper-class cars, more and more radar sensors are present on the roads. Furthermore, the number of radar-based systems per car is increasing, leading to a larger number of sensors. For example, four to six short-range radar sensors are required for the collision avoidance systems. Various problems occur if additional interfering signals are received by the radar sensor together with the real echo of the object. Through the interferers, often the noise floor increases. This leads to a significantly degraded detection probability of objects that produce echoes with small amplitude, e.g. from pedestrians. This clearly shows that testing the performance of the automotive radar sensor’s interferer mitigation technique is a major task.
Due to its safety-relevant nature, the robustness of automotive radar sensors against interferers has also moved into the focus of the standardization authorities. With the radio equipment directive (RED) and the related applicable standards, such as ETSI EN 303396 and ETSI EN 303091-1/2, an obligatory standard became law in Europe. It requires testing the performance of the radar sensor’s interferer mitigation technique.
This highlights the fact that the immunity of automotive radar sensors against interferers is one of the key performance indicators of the radar sensor and a prerequisite to provide highly secure ADAS on the road.
