Micro-Range Micro-Doppler for Dismount Classification

This paper presents a processing technique that can be used to detect and classify pedestrians group based on the micro-Doppler signature gathered with a millimeter wave radar. The evaluation of the number of pedestrians moving in a group can be a difficult task using a traditional micro-Doppler spectrogram because of a tendency for people to partially synchronize their steps when walking together. The new approach, based on multi-range variation as well as the micro-Doppler variations, provides promising results. The range-spectrogram processing technique was developed and tested using a database composed of hundreds of pedestrian and vehicle signatures gathered in an urban test site over a two year period in a variety of weather conditions. We associate image detections with radar detections through motion extracted from both radar and imagery. We also explain how radar and video together can produce an inexpensive alternative to 3-D imaging.