A system demonstrator for the performance evaluation of a 24 GHz ISM band radar operating with OFDM waveforms

OFDM signals possess a high flexibility, which, besides their typical employment for wireless digital communications, makes them also suitable for radar applications. In this paper an OFDM system will be presented that offers communication and radar functions in parallel based on one joint transmit signal. A typical application area would be intelligent transportation systems, which require the ability for vehicle-to-vehicle communication as well as the need for reliable environment sensing. A system demonstrator based on commercial equipment has been set up that allows for the transmission of an OFDM signal carrying arbitrary user information. From the reflected signal radar images resolving the distances of multiple reflecting objects can be calculated. In this paper, first the employed waveform and the detailed system setup will be discussed. Then, measurement results will be shown that prove the operability of the developed system concept and its performance.