A Novel Approach to Range-profile Estimation of a Moving Vehicle by Road-monitoring Radar

Due to increasing traffic flows, it has become imperative to accurately measure and classify the vehicles passing through a stretch of road. In the UK, the common systems used for the automatic traffic monitoring are based on induction loops, piezoelectric and pneumatic tube counters [1]. These systems are widely implemented due to their accuracy but their maintenance cost is very high. To overcome this problem, radar system can provide an alternative solution. There are various systems discussed and researched in the literature. S.J. Park et al [4] are proposing the use of a side looking stationary radar for the detection and size measurement of vehicles, based on the magnitude and spectrum pattern of the received power. Another technique proposed by H. Roe and G.S Hobson [5], suggests the use of an FMCW microwave system to classify the vehicles using the profiles derived from speed and range data with an accuracy of 75%. An alternative technique is described by M. Jahangir in [2], offering robust Doppler classification based on Hidden Markov Models with an accuracy of 87%. E. Walton demonstrates that an UWB radar system can be used for moving vehicle identification [7].