3-D object tracking in millimeter-wave radar for advanced driver assistance systems

This paper presents a new 3-D tracking method for millimeter-wave radar imaging of objects around a car in advanced driving assistance systems (ADAS). Current automotive radar systems only estimate objects in 2-D plane (range and azimuth) and hence only a 2-D tracking is employed. We expect future evolutions of these systems to provide the additional elevation information allowing a 3-D view around the car. Given the estimated locations of multiple objects, the tracking algorithm refines the estimates and initiates new tracks as new objects are detected in the scene. The tracking is based on Extended Kalman filter that takes measurements in spherical coordinates and relates them to state vector in Cartesian coordinates. Furthermore, estimates of object radial velocity are related to object velocities in Cartesian coordinates. We will present simulation results to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed tracking model.