Micro-Drone Detection with FMCW Radar Based on Stationary Point Concentration Technique

Abstract

This paper shows an interesting detection performance of frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) radar. We challenge to detect a micro-drone whose size is about a little finger. Applying the stationary point concentration (SPC) technique, we overcome the inherent problem of leakage in the FMCW radar and set a new record for ultra-small drone detection. The SPC technique attenuates the phase noise of the leakage, and this leads to the reduction of the noise floor in the power spectrum. Therefore, we can expect to detect the beat signal of the micro-drone buried inthe noise floor due to its extremely small radar cross section. Experimental results demonstrate that the noise floor is significantly reduced, and the micro-drone buried in the noise floor is detected well.