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Automotive radar sensors play a vital role in the current development of autonomous driving. Their ability to detect objects even under adverse conditions makes them indispensable for environment-sensing tasks in autonomous vehicles. As their functional operation must be validated in-place, a fully integrated test system is required. Radar Target Simulators (RTS) are capable of executing end-of-line, over-the-air validation tests by looping back a received and afterward modified radar signal and have been incorporated into existing Vehicle-in-the-Loop (ViL) test beds before. However, the currently available ViL test beds and the RTS systems that they consist of lack the ability to generate authentic radar echoes with respect to their complexity. The paper at hand reviews the current development stage of the research as well as commercial ViL and RTS systems. Furthermore, the concept and implementation of a new test setup for the rapid prototyping and validation of ADAS functions is presented. This represents the first-ever integrated radar validation test system to comprise multiple angle-resolved radar target channels, each capable of generating multiple radar echoes. A measurement campaign that supports this claim has been conducted.

Automotive radar sensors play a key role in the current development of autonomous driving. Their ability to detect objects even under adverse conditions makes them indispensable for environment-sensing tasks in autonomous vehicles. The thorough and in-place validation of radar sensors demands for an integrative test system. Radar target simulators (RTS) are capable of performing over-the-air validation tests by creating artificial radar echoes that are perceived as targets by the radar under test. Since the authenticity and credibility of these targets is based on the accuracy with which they are generated, their simulated position must be arbitrarily adjustable. In this paper, a new approach to synthesize virtual radar targets at an arbitrary angle of arrival is presented. The concept is based on the superposition of the returning signals of two adjacent RTS channels. A theoretical model describing the basic principle and its constraints is developed. Additionally, a measurement campaign is conducted that verifies the practical functionality of the proposed scheme.

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