Velocity Estimation with a Distributed Array for Autonomous Ground Vehicles

A new method of radar-based vehicle velocity estimation using correlation interferometry is presented. Based on a distributed receive array, this method enables direct measurement of the angular velocity of ground surface scatterers moving through the radar field of view. A 16.9 GHz active distributed array is implemented using a continuous-wave transmitter and a distributed receiving array with a baseline extending up to 10λ. This method is verified by detecting the ground speed from a moving vehicle. A simple heuristic estimator was developed that achieved a root-mean-square error (RMSE) of 0.30 m/s.