Unified Model and Survey on Modulation Schemes for Next-Generation Automotive Radar Systems

Commercial automotive radar systems for advanced driver assistance systems (ADASs) have relied on frequency-modulated continuous wave (FMCW) waveforms for years due to their low-cost hardware, simple signal processing, and established academic and industrial expertise. However, FMCW systems face sev...

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Main Authors: Moritz Kahlert, Tai Fei, Yuming Wang, Claas Tebruegge, Markus Gardill
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-04-01
Series:Remote Sensing
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/17/8/1355
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author Moritz Kahlert
Tai Fei
Yuming Wang
Claas Tebruegge
Markus Gardill
author_facet Moritz Kahlert
Tai Fei
Yuming Wang
Claas Tebruegge
Markus Gardill
author_sort Moritz Kahlert
collection DOAJ
description Commercial automotive radar systems for advanced driver assistance systems (ADASs) have relied on frequency-modulated continuous wave (FMCW) waveforms for years due to their low-cost hardware, simple signal processing, and established academic and industrial expertise. However, FMCW systems face several challenges, including limited unambiguous velocity, restricted multiplexing of transmit signals, and susceptibility to interference. This work introduces a unified automotive radar signal model and reviews the alternative modulation schemes such as phase-coded frequency-modulated continuous wave (PC-FMCW), phase-modulated continuous wave (PMCW), orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM), orthogonal chirp division multiplexing (OCDM), and orthogonal time frequency space (OTFS). These schemes are assessed against key technological and economic criteria and compared with FMCW, highlighting their respective strengths and limitations.
format Article
id doaj-art-812d030bf80e44498bb94ddfd9c87aad
institution OA Journals
issn 2072-4292
language English
publishDate 2025-04-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Remote Sensing
spelling doaj-art-812d030bf80e44498bb94ddfd9c87aad2025-08-20T02:28:25ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922025-04-01178135510.3390/rs17081355Unified Model and Survey on Modulation Schemes for Next-Generation Automotive Radar SystemsMoritz Kahlert0Tai Fei1Yuming Wang2Claas Tebruegge3Markus Gardill4HELLA GmbH & Co. KGaA, 59552 Lippstadt, GermanyFaculty Information Technology, University of Applied Sciences and Arts, 44139 Dortmund, GermanyFaculty Electrical Engineering, Hamm-Lippstadt University of Applied Sciences, 59557 Lippstadt, GermanyHELLA GmbH & Co. KGaA, 59552 Lippstadt, GermanyFaculty of Mathematics, Computer Science, Physics, Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, Campus Cottbus, Brandenburg University of Technology, 03046 Cottbus-Senftenberg, GermanyCommercial automotive radar systems for advanced driver assistance systems (ADASs) have relied on frequency-modulated continuous wave (FMCW) waveforms for years due to their low-cost hardware, simple signal processing, and established academic and industrial expertise. However, FMCW systems face several challenges, including limited unambiguous velocity, restricted multiplexing of transmit signals, and susceptibility to interference. This work introduces a unified automotive radar signal model and reviews the alternative modulation schemes such as phase-coded frequency-modulated continuous wave (PC-FMCW), phase-modulated continuous wave (PMCW), orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM), orthogonal chirp division multiplexing (OCDM), and orthogonal time frequency space (OTFS). These schemes are assessed against key technological and economic criteria and compared with FMCW, highlighting their respective strengths and limitations.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/17/8/1355automotive radarfrequency-modulated continuous waveorthogonal chirp-division multiplexingorthogonal frequency-division multiplexingorthogonal time frequency spacephase-coded frequency-modulated continuous wave
spellingShingle Moritz Kahlert
Tai Fei
Yuming Wang
Claas Tebruegge
Markus Gardill
Unified Model and Survey on Modulation Schemes for Next-Generation Automotive Radar Systems
Remote Sensing
automotive radar
frequency-modulated continuous wave
orthogonal chirp-division multiplexing
orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing
orthogonal time frequency space
phase-coded frequency-modulated continuous wave
title Unified Model and Survey on Modulation Schemes for Next-Generation Automotive Radar Systems
title_full Unified Model and Survey on Modulation Schemes for Next-Generation Automotive Radar Systems
title_fullStr Unified Model and Survey on Modulation Schemes for Next-Generation Automotive Radar Systems
title_full_unstemmed Unified Model and Survey on Modulation Schemes for Next-Generation Automotive Radar Systems
title_short Unified Model and Survey on Modulation Schemes for Next-Generation Automotive Radar Systems
title_sort unified model and survey on modulation schemes for next generation automotive radar systems
topic automotive radar
frequency-modulated continuous wave
orthogonal chirp-division multiplexing
orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing
orthogonal time frequency space
phase-coded frequency-modulated continuous wave
url https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/17/8/1355
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AT yumingwang unifiedmodelandsurveyonmodulationschemesfornextgenerationautomotiveradarsystems
AT claastebruegge unifiedmodelandsurveyonmodulationschemesfornextgenerationautomotiveradarsystems
AT markusgardill unifiedmodelandsurveyonmodulationschemesfornextgenerationautomotiveradarsystems