Towards mmWave Altimetry for UAS: Exploring the Potential of 77 GHz Automotive Radars

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Date

2024

Authors

Kara, Ali
Kara, Ali
Derawi, Mohammad

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Mdpi

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Department of Electrical & Electronics Engineering
Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering (EE) offers solid graduate education and research program. Our Department is known for its student-centered and practice-oriented education. We are devoted to provide an exceptional educational experience to our students and prepare them for the highest personal and professional accomplishments. The advanced teaching and research laboratories are designed to educate the future workforce and meet the challenges of current technologies. The faculty's research activities are high voltage, electrical machinery, power systems, signal and image processing and photonics. Our students have exciting opportunities to participate in our department's research projects as well as in various activities sponsored by TUBİTAK, and other professional societies. European Remote Radio Laboratory project, which provides internet-access to our laboratories, has been accomplished under the leadership of our department with contributions from several European institutions.

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Abstract

Precise altitude data are indispensable for flight navigation, particularly during the autonomous landing of unmanned aerial systems (UASs). Conventional light and barometric sensors employed for altitude estimation are limited by poor visibility and temperature conditions, respectively, whilst global positioning system (GPS) receivers provide the altitude from the mean sea level (MSL) marred with a slow update rate. To cater to the landing safety requirements, UASs necessitate precise altitude information above ground level (AGL) impervious to environmental conditions. Radar altimeters, a mainstay in commercial aviation for at least half a century, realize these requirements through minimum operational performance standards (MOPSs). More recently, the proliferation of 5G technology and interference with the universally allocated band for radar altimeters from 4.2 to 4.4 GHz underscores the necessity to explore novel avenues. Notably, there is no dedicated MOPS tailored for radar altimeters of UASs. To gauge the performance of a radar altimeter offering for UASs, existing MOPSs are the de facto choice. Historically, frequency-modulated continuous wave (FMCW) radars have been extensively used in a broad spectrum of ranging applications including radar altimeters. Modern monolithic millimeter wave (mmWave) automotive radars, albeit designed for automotive applications, also employ FMCW for precise ranging with a cost-effective and compact footprint. Given the technology maturation with excellent size, weight, and power (SWaP) metrics, there is a growing trend in industry and academia to explore their efficacy beyond the realm of the automotive industry. To this end, their feasibility for UAS altimetry remains largely untapped. While the literature on theoretical discourse is prevalent, a specific focus on mmWave radar altimetry is lacking. Moreover, clutter estimation with hardware specifications of a pure look-down mmWave radar is unreported. This article argues the applicability of MOPSs for commercial aviation for adaptation to a UAS use case. The theme of the work is a tutorial based on a simplified mathematical and theoretical discussion on the understanding of performance metrics and inherent intricacies. A systems engineering approach for deriving waveform specifications from operational requirements of a UAS is offered. Lastly, proposed future research directions and insights are included.

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Kara, Ali/0000-0002-9739-7619

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UAS, FMCW, mmWave, automotive, radar, altimeter

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Volume

8

Issue

3

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