Range dependent false alarm reduction in radar object detection

An apparatus for reducing false alarms in RADAR processing, the apparatus comprising:

• a memory;
• and
• at least one processor coupled to the memory and configured to:
• obtain a digital signal resulting from mixing (1) a received signal associated with reflection of a RADAR transmit signal and (2) a local version of the RADAR transmit signal;
• perform one or more transforms using the digital signal to generate an array of spectrum values for a first domain spanning at least one of a range axis, a direction of arrival (DoA) axis, or a velocity axis;
• identify one or more spectrum values from the array of spectrum values, wherein for each of the one or more spectrum values, (1) the spectrum value is associated with a range estimate, and (2) the spectrum value exceeds a range-dependent maximum threshold established based on a quartic function of the range estimate;
• exclude, or obtain one or more reduced-magnitude values for, the one or more spectrum values identified as exceeding the range-dependent maximum threshold, to generate an array of modified spectrum values for the first domain spanning the at least one of the range axis, the DoA axis, or the velocity axis;
• and
• use the array of modified spectrum values to generate a range estimate, a DoA estimate, or a velocity estimate, or any combination thereof.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions therein for execution by one or more processing units, comprising instructions to:

• obtain a digital signal resulting from mixing (1) a received signal associated with reflection of a RADAR transmit signal and (2) a local version of the RADAR transmit signal;
• perform one or more transforms using the digital signal to generate an array of spectrum values for a first domain spanning at least one of a range axis, a direction of arrival (DoA) axis, or a velocity axis;
• identify one or more spectrum values from the array of spectrum values, wherein for each of the one or more spectrum values, (1) the spectrum value is associated with a range estimate, and (2) the spectrum value exceeds a range-dependent maximum threshold established based on a quartic function of the range estimate;
• exclude, or obtain one or more reduced-magnitude values for, the one or more spectrum values identified as exceeding the range-dependent maximum threshold, to generate an array of modified spectrum values for the first domain spanning the at least one of the range axis, the DoA axis, or the velocity axis;
• and
• use the array of modified spectrum values to generate a range estimate, a DoA estimate, or a velocity estimate, or any combination thereof.

A system for reducing false alarms in RADAR processing, the system comprising:

• means for obtaining a digital signal resulting from mixing (1) a received signal associated with reflection of a RADAR transmit signal and (2) a local version of the RADAR transmit signal;
• means for performing one or more transforms using the digital signal to generate an array of spectrum values for a first domain spanning at least one of a range axis, a direction of arrival (DoA) axis, or a velocity axis;
• means for identifying one or more spectrum values from the array of spectrum values, wherein for each of the one or more spectrum values, (1) the spectrum value is associated with a range estimate, and (2) the spectrum value exceeds a range-dependent maximum threshold established based on a quartic function of the range estimate;
• means for excluding, or obtaining one or more reduced-magnitude values for, the one or more spectrum values identified as exceeding the range-dependent maximum threshold, to generate an array of modified spectrum values for the first domain spanning the at least one of the range axis, the DoA axis, or the velocity axis;
• and
• means for using the array of modified spectrum values to generate a range estimate, a DoA estimate, or a velocity estimate, or any combination thereof.