Frequency modulated continuous wave antenna system

A method for using a radar assembly to sense an environment, comprising the steps of:

• a. providing a radar system comprising an antenna assembly secured for 360-degree rotation, the antenna assembly having mounted thereon at least one transmit antenna, and a first set of three or more separate fixed receive antennas, wherein the antenna assembly has a greater width than height;
• and creating a fanbeam that has a greater height than width;
• b. rotating the antenna assembly to a first azimuth position;
• c. transmitting an FMCW waveform within the fanbeam and then receiving reflections from targets in the environment while in the first azimuth position;
• d. based on the received reflections, processing and storing data;
• e. repeating steps a-d for all other azimuths until an azimuth sweep has been completed;
• f. compiling a full environmental data set for the environment, wherein the data set comprises azimuth data, range data, elevation data and RCS data;
• and
• g. delivering the data set to a controller for analysis,
• wherein the receive antennas are collinear and unevenly spaced vertically, and designed to have antenna gain patterns coaxially aligned predominately horizontally with a pattern of the fanbeam where a narrow beam width of the fanbeam pattern is oriented azimuthally and a wide beam width of the fanbeam pattern is oriented vertically, and with the first plurality of transmit antennas positioned in proximity of the receive antennas with a similar fanbeam orientation that is coaxially aligned with the receive antennas.