Clutter Mitigation in Indoor Radar Sensors Using Sensor Fusion Technology

A methodology utilizing low-resolution camera data is proposed to mitigate clutter effects on radar sensors in smart indoor environments. The proposed technique suppresses clutter in distance-velocity (range-Doppler) images obtained from millimeter-wave radar by estimating clutter locations using approximate spatial information derived from low-resolution camera images. Notably, the inherent blur present in low-resolution images closely corresponds to the distortion patterns induced by clutter in radar signals, making such data particularly suitable for effective sensor fusion. Experimental validation was conducted in indoor path-tracking scenarios involving a moving subject within a 10 m range. Performance was quantitatively evaluated against baseline range-Doppler maps obtained using radar data alone, without clutter mitigation. The results show that our approach improves the signal-to-noise ratio by 2 dB and increases the target detection rate by 8.6% within the critical 4-6 m range, with additional gains observed under constrained velocity conditions.