Systems for determining target direction and methods therefor

A system for determining the direction of a target comprising:

• a plurality of transceivers, each transceiver being configured for emitting a continuous-wave transmission radio signal in a respective main direction of transmission, the transmission radio signal covering a respective field of view, for receiving a return radio signal and for generating a baseband signal based on respective transmission and return signals, wherein the fields of view of adjacent transceivers partially overlap to each other, and wherein the transceivers are so arranged that the main directions of transmission of the plurality of transceivers lie in a detection plane and the main directions of transmission of adjacent transceivers are distinct from each other, and
• an electronic controller connected to each of the plurality of transceivers and configured for:
• receiving a baseband signal from each transceiver of the plurality of transceivers, processing said baseband signals to obtain a range profile for each transceiver, which range profile consists of a signal amplitude profile, as a function of the distance from the transceivers,
• analyzing the range profiles to detect the presence of at least one target and to calculate, for each target, respective signal amplitude values associated with distinct transceivers,
• determining a direction of each target by calculating a weighted average of the main transmission directions of the transceivers, wherein each main transmission direction is weighted according to the corresponding amplitude value of the signal associated with the target,
• wherein:
• the controller, when detecting the presence of each target, is configured to select at least one amplitude peak in a range profile, and
• the controller, when calculating the signal amplitude values associated with each target, is configured to select at least one interval of distances that comprises the corresponding amplitude peak identified, and to calculate integrals of the range profiles associated with distinct transceivers in said interval of distances.