A high speed 3D radar scanner for automation

A high speed three dimensional radar scanner capable of providing the high resolution range maps necessary for outdoor mobile robotic vehicles is described in this paper. Unlike traditional laser rangefinder based scanners, this sensor is intended to operate in real world environments plagued with dust, fog, and rain. The 94 GHz pulsed time-of-flight radar system has a peak repetition rate of 250 kHz, a 23 cm beam focused at 8m with an effective 1/spl deg/ divergence, and a 180/spl deg//spl times/360/spl deg/ scanned field of view. DSP processing of the range data provides a reduced data rate while taking full advantage of the higher firing rate to improve accuracy and sensitivity to specular and poorly reflective targets.