Modeling Radar Systems with MATLAB

Day 1 of 2

Working with Radar Toolbox

Objective: Understand course themes, including an overview of a radar system model that will be developed at different levels of fidelity as the course progresses.

• Introduction to the products listed above with a focus on Radar Toolbox 
• Introduction to a radar design workflow 
• Introduction to a search and track radar model, which will serve as the course example

Radar Systems Engineering

Objective: Understand how to use the Radar Designer app to characterize, analyze, and evaluate radar system requirements.

• Evaluate the radar equation and evaluate performance against system-level metrics 
• Calculate system gains and losses, transmit power, maximum range, SNR, and other key radar design parameters 
• Analyze detection performance over a range of environmental conditions 
• Explore signal and data processing engineering trade-offs to ensure requirements are addressed 
• Plot SNR vs. range on a stoplight chart 
• Generate MATLAB code from app

Radar Scenario Authoring

Objective: Understand how to use Radar Toolbox to create a realistic scenario which can be used to evaluate a preliminary radar system design and to also drive system level simulations.

• Model motion, orientation, and SNR of radar platforms and targets 
• Create and record a radar scenario containing platforms and emitters 
• Plot ground truth trajectories, object detections, and power levels in a radar scenario

Radar Modeling and Simulation

Objective: Translate a preliminary radar design into a statistical model. Learn to generate detections, clustered detections, and tracks from the model. Implement workflow to move to a signal-level model directly from the statistical model.

• Translate preliminary design into statistical model parameters 
• Run statistical model to generate detections and tracks 
• Use radar transceiver to move from statistical model to signal-level model 
• Validate results between different modeling abstraction levels

Radar Signal and Data Processing

Objective: Generate detections from signal-level simulations. Estimate received signal parameters including direction-of arrival, range, angle, and Doppler response. Configure a multi-object tracker and perform adaptive tracking.

• Radar signal and data processing overview 
• Obtain properties of received signals such as matched filter response, stretch processor response, direction of arrival, range, angle, and Doppler response 
• Implement a constant false alarm rate (CFAR) detection algorithm 
• Create, delete, and manage tracks for multiple objects. Obtain object positions and velocities.

Day 2 of 2

Antenna Array Design

Objective: Design and analyze phased array antennas.

• Generate radiation patterns for linear, planar, and conformal phased array antennas using Sensor Array Analyzer app 
• Design arrays using subarray architectures 
• Synthesize an array to match a known pattern
• Model transmit and receive signals through antenna arrays 

Spatial Signal Processing

Objective: Integrate beamforming and Direction of Arrival (DOA) estimation to improve desired signal strength and reduce the impact of interference sources. Parameter estimate angle, Doppler

• Model narrowband and wideband beamformers 
• Implement direction of arrival estimation

Radar Environment Modeling

Objective: Learn how to extend the fidelity of the signal-level model across the range of radar system and scenario components.

• Model point targets and backscatter targets with angle dependent RCS 
• Model free space, atmospheric and two-ray propagation, clutter, and jammers interferences 
• Radar altimeter 

Antenna Patterns and Mutual Coupling

Objective: Learn how to generate antenna patterns and model mutual coupling in an array.

• Generate antenna patterns using Antenna Designer app and Antenna Array Designer app 
• Model arrays with custom elements 
• Compute mutual coupling in small, medium, and large arrays

Waveform Libraries for Multifunction Radar

Objective: Select waveform parameters and build an agile waveform library.

• Use Pulse Waveform Analyzer app to design radar waveforms 
• Build library of waveforms which can be used in a multifunction radar 
• Implement PRF, frequency, and beam steering agile models