Modeling and Evaluation of Photonics Radar-LiDAR Configuration for Enhanced Target Detection

Target detection is very crucial in autonomous systems, applications and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), surveillance and defence applications. Conventionally, FMCW radars are used for short range target detection and operates excellently in adverse weather condition, but its resolution is degraded due to its limited bandwidth. But under these conditions, a Photonics radar with LiDAR can provide both short-long range target detection with high-resolution suitable for various applications. In this work, we propose a hybrid FMCW Photonics Radar-LiDAR configuration that can be controlled with the help of a decision-making unit based on the application requirements. For long range target detection, the radar will be in operational mode, whereas in the shorter ranges the, the LiDAR system gets activated. A universal hardware configuration that can be adapted for both radar and lidar Transmitter and receiver is proposed. The photonics-based hardware is designed for a radar system operating in X band as well as that can adapt for a lidar Transmitter and Receiver sections. The design architecture of this combination is modelled in a standard simulation environment with various results obtained during the evaluation phase. The results demonstrate improved detection accuracy and adaptability. This hybrid system offers a robust and a high precision solution for various applications with enhanced performance capability.