Stationary target identification in a traffic monitoring radar system

Abstract

Recently, as one of the intelligent transportation systems, radar systems that monitor traffic on the road have received attention. To ensure the reliable detection performance of the traffic monitoring radar, it is necessary to distinguish stationary road structures from moving vehicles. Therefore, in this paper, we propose a method for discriminating stationary targets in traffic monitoring radar systems. First, we install a frequency-modulated continuous wave radar system using a center frequency of 24.15 GHz on an overpass to monitor multiple lanes on the road. Then, we process the raw data obtained by the radar sensor to extract target information such as the distance, angle, velocity, and radar cross-section. Finally, we analyze the target characteristics in the angle-velocity domain to classify stationary targets and moving vehicles. In this domain, stationary targets appear as points lying around a straight line, and if we estimate that line, we can extract the stationary targets among all targets. To find the trend line, we use a random sample consensus-based estimation method, which can extract a dominant line component from a set of sample points. Through the proposed method, we can effectively remove the stationary targets in the field of view of the radar system.