Darting-out Target Detection with NLOS Signals for Vehicle MIMO mmWave Radar

Detection and tracking of crossing objects are crucial in automated driving to ensure the safety of pedestrians and drivers. However, in urban scenarios, occlusions not only make it difficult to detect the crossing target in non line of sight (NLOS) area, but also make the crossing target in line of sight (LOS) area susceptible to multipath signals. In this paper, a method is proposed to effectively detect the darting-out target occluded by parked vehicle during the entire movement for millimeter wave (mmWave) radar. Two typical situations of electromagnetic (EM) propagation are studied when the target darts out from NLOS area to LOS area. The ground reflection EM signal is used to detection and tracking when the darting-out target is located in NLOS area. The reflecting plane of parked vehicle is estimated to assist in eliminating interference caused by NLOS signals when the darting-out target is located in LOS area. Experimental results ultimately validate the effectiveness of the proposed method.