Analysis of Proactive Uncoordinated Techniques to Mitigate Interference in FMCW Automotive Radars

2026-03-05

IEEE Transactions on Radar Systems

AI Summary

In dense traffic scenarios, frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) automotive radars are highly susceptible to co-channel interference, which can lead to functional failure and safety hazards. This work proposes the first high-fidelity interference model that comprehensively accounts for both direct and reflected propagation paths as well as parameter correlations. It systematically evaluates three active interference-mitigation strategies that require no inter-vehicle coordination: frame-level and chirp-level random carrier frequency hopping, and a direction-based compass method. Through realistic traffic simulations coupled with detailed radar signal modeling, the study demonstrates that chirp-level frequency hopping combined with large bandwidth significantly reduces interference risk, whereas the compass method offers limited performance gains that fail to justify its added complexity. The findings underscore the critical impact of interference-mitigation strategy selection on system reliability in dense vehicular environments.

Technology Category

• Planning, Routing, and Scheduling: Optimization of Spatio-temporal Systems
• Application Domains: Mobility, Driving & Flight
• Cognitive Modeling & Cognitive Systems: Neural Spike Coding

Application Category

• Security and Privacy: Large-scale security measurements
• User Modeling, Personalization and Recommendation: Attacks and countermeasures in recommendation systems
• Systems and Infrastructure for Web, Mobile and WoT: Energy management for devices in mobile Web and WoT environments

Abstract

Modern vehicles increasingly rely on advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS), with radars playing a key role due to their cost-effectiveness and reliable performance. However, the growing number of radars operating in the same spectrum raises concerns about mutual interference, which could lead to system malfunctions and potential safety risks. This study focuses on a scenario in which all vehicles are equipped with frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) radars, and it assesses the impact of interference on radar functionality - expressed in terms of probability of failure - by considering both direct and reflected signals. The radars may employ one of the following proactive mitigation methods to reduce the impact of interference, all of which require no inter-vehicle coordination but differ in complexity: (i) random carrier-frequency hopping on a frame-by-frame basis, (ii) random carrier-frequency hopping on a chirp-by-chirp basis, and (iii) a directional, compass-based method specifically addressing interference from opposite directions, which can be combined with either of the two previous methods. In this work, we assume realistic simulated road traffic scenarios and develop a novel model that captures correlated interference and accounts for the main radar setting parameters. Results reveal that dense scenarios pose a high risk of radar malfunctions. Among the analyzed methods, chirp-by-chirp frequency hopping emerges as the most effective approach to mitigate interference and ensure system reliability, but only when combined with a sufficiently large bandwidth. The compass-based method, on the other hand, shows limited effectiveness and appears not worth the additional system complexity.

Problem

• FMCW radar
• mutual interference
• automotive radar
• interference mitigation
• ADAS

Innovation

• FMCW radar
• interference mitigation
• frequency hopping
• uncoordinated techniques
• automotive radar