A 29.5 GHz radar interferometer for measuring the angular velocity of moving objects

The design of a 29.5 GHz wide field-of-view radar interferometer system for directly measuring the angular velocity of moving objects is presented, along with the first wide field-of-view measurements of the angular velocity of moving point targets. Interferometry allows the direct measurement of the angular velocity of moving objects via a simple frequency analysis, in a manner mathematically analogous to the measurement of the Doppler frequency shift in radar measurements of radial velocity. Following the design of the receiver system, measurements are presented herein that, for the first time, verify theoretical analyses of the wide field-of-view measurement. Measurements consisted of a person walking while holding a metal corner reflector with 10 cm length sides and the resulting time-frequency signature of the reflector is shown to match the corresponding simulation.