MILLIMETER-WAVE BACKSCATTER MEASUREMENTS IN SUPPORT OF COLLISION-AVOIDANCE APPLICATIONS

Millimeter-wave short range radar systems have unique advantages in su rface navigation applications, such as military vehicle mobility, airc raft landing assistance, and automotive collision avoidance. In collis ion avoidance applications, characterization of clutter due to terrain and roadside objects is necessary in order to maximize the signal-to- clutter ratio (SCR) and to minimize false alarms. The results of two t ypes of radar cross section (RCS) measurements at 95 GHz are reported in this paper. The first set of measurements presents data on the norm alized RCS (NRCS) as well as clutter distributions of various terrain types at low grazing angles of 5 degrees and 7.5 degrees. The second s et of measurements presents RCS data and statistics on various types o f roadside objects, such as metallic and wooden sign posts. These resu lts are expected to be useful for designers of short-range millimeter- wave collision avoidance radar systems.