An algebraic solution for moving target localization in distributed MIMO radar systems with clock synchronization errors

Abstract

Due to the limitations of clock synchronization technology and non-ideal clocks of the sensors, it is not feasible to achieve precise clock synchronization for distributed multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) radar systems. In this paper, a closedform solution for locating moving target in distributed MIMO radar systems with clock synchronization errors by using the time delay and Doppler shift measurements is proposed. Specifically, a transmitter is utilized as the reference and the clock synchronization errors are introduced to establish estimation formulations about the target position and velocity, and the formulations are solved by best linear unbiased estimator firstly. Then, the estimates of the target position and velocity are refined based on the relation between the reference parameters and unknowns. The proposed solution is demonstrated to be approximately unbiased and able to reach the Cramer-Rao lower bound under weak noise conditions through the theoretical derivation and numerical simulations. Furthermore, the simulations show that the proposed solution enjoys better target localization accuracy than the state-of-the-art algorithms.