Artificial Skin for 76–77 GHz Radar Mannequins

This paper discusses the design, fabrication, and characterization of a unique artificial skin specifically designed for mannequins used in 76-77 GHz vehicular collision-avoidance radar evaluations. The artificial skin has a multilayer sheet composed of conductive fabrics and a conducting backing. By carefully choosing the conductivity and thickness of the fabrics, this artificial skin demonstrated similar reflectivity as real, dry human skin. Also, the conducting backing effectively shields the components (motors, wires, support frames, etc.) inside the mannequin from radar operations. The performance of this artificial skin was validated by comparing the radar cross-section pattern data collected from real human subjects.