Waveform Design and Signal Processing Aspects for Fusion of Wireless Communications and Radar Sensing

Since traditional radar signals are “unintelligent,” regarding the amount of information they convey on the bandwidth they occupy, a joint radar and wireless communication system would constitute a unique platform for future intelligent transportation networks effecting the essential tasks of environmental sensing and the allocation of ad-hoc communication links, in terms of both spectrum efficiency and cost-effectiveness. In this paper, approaches to the design of intelligent waveforms, that are suitable for simultaneously performing both data transmission and radar sensing, are proposed. The approach is based on classical phase-coded waveforms utilized in wireless communications. In particular, requirements that allow for employing such signals for radar measurements with high dynamic range are investigated. Also, a variety of possible radar processing algorithms are discussed. Moreover, the applicability of multiple antenna techniques for direction-of-arrival estimation is considered. In addition to theoretical considerations, the paper presents system simulations and measurement results of complete “RadCom” systems, demonstrating the practical feasibility of integrated communications and radar applications.