Doppler compensated space-time block coding for multistatic radar systems

Space-time block coding techniques are useful for multistatic / MIMO radar systems as they allow for the use of non-orthogonal waveforms while providing waveform diversity with full signal separation. Block coding, however, necessitates the assumption of no or negligible target motion. This paper attempts to alleviate the issue of target Doppler shifts by introducing an adaptive block coding scheme. The modified block code is appropriately tailored to make certain that the detection degradation caused by Doppler shift remains tolerable at the expense of lower emit antenna power. This work can be seen as bridging the gap between the usage of a full block code in the existence of no target Doppler and the emission of a single, but Doppler resilient, waveform with extensive object motion. Simulations are used to demonstrate how adaptation of a block code significantly reduces some of the issues caused by target motion providing detectional benefits.