Real-time implementation of an imaging algorithm for FMCW MIMO radar systems

In this contribution we present a real-time implementation of an image reconstruction algorithm applicable to multiple-input multiple-output radar systems. The design is based on a backprojection approach to simultaneously process the signals from up to four receive channels of a frequency-modulated continuous wave radar. The realized algorithm is highly flexible regarding the configuration of the imaging scene as well as the utilized antenna arrangement, because both can be altered during the operation of the device. As the implementation is carried out on a field programmable gate array with a fixed-point number representation, we state manageable design equations that can be used to configure the algorithm in order to achieve the desired performance in terms of the signal-to-noise ratio.