Radar system for automotive applications

A vehicle comprising a radar system, the radar system comprising:

• at least one main transmit antenna configured to transmit main radar waves essentially parallel to a road on which the vehicle is standing or driving;
• at least one main receive antenna configured to receive reflections of the main radar waves off objects on the road;
• a first street condition monitoring (SCM) transmit antenna configured to transmit first polarized radar waves essentially directed to the road at a first polarization;
• a second SCM transmit antenna configured to transmit second polarized radar waves essentially directed to the road at a second polarization different from the first polarization;
• a first SCM receive antenna configured to receive, at the first polarization, reflections of the first polarized radar waves off the road;
• and
• a second SCM receive antenna configured to receive, at the second polarization, reflections of the second polarized radar waves off the road,
• wherein the first and second SCM transmit and receive antennas are communicatively coupled to a processing device via frequency-selective elements,
• wherein the frequency-selective elements include at least one of (a) high-pass filters, (b) step-impedance filters, (c) frequency-selective power dividers connected to filters, (d) dual-resonance filters, and (e) diplexers.

A method comprising:

• transmitting, from at least one main transmit antenna, main radar waves essentially parallel to a road on which a vehicle is standing or driving;
• receiving, by at least one main receive antenna, reflections of the main radar waves off objects on the road;
• transmitting, from a first street condition monitoring (SCM) transmit antenna, first polarized radar waves essentially directed to the road at a first polarization;
• transmitting, from a second SCM transmit antenna, second polarized radar waves essentially directed to the road at a second polarization different from the first polarization;
• receiving, by a first SCM receive antenna at the first polarization, reflections of the first polarized radar waves off the road;
• and
• receiving, by a second SCM receive antenna at the second polarization, reflections of the second polarized radar waves off the road,
• wherein the first and second SCM transmit and receive antennas are communicatively coupled to a processing device via frequency-selective elements,
• wherein the frequency-selective elements include at least one of (a) high-pass filters, (b) step-impedance filters, (c) frequency-selective power dividers connected to filters, (d) dual-resonance filters, and (e) diplexers.