Passive radars as low environmental impact solutions for smart cities traffic monitoring

Passive radar systems are proposed as ground traffic control and monitoring tools in modern urban areas. These radars use communication networks transmitters available in the area of interest, instead of dedicated ones. The absence of a transmitter reduces dramatically the cost of development, deployment and maintenance, making feasible passive radar sensor networks for covering modern cities complex scenarios. They do not generate electromagnetic compatibility problems, and, more important, they are not associated with health issues. The illuminator selection is one of the most important tasks. The transmitted waveform, the transmitted power, the availability or the coverage areas are critical elements that are out of the control of the radar designer. The IDEPAR demonstrator is used in an urban environment to prove the traffic monitoring capabilities of passive radars exploiting Direct Video Broascasting -Terrestrial transmitters.