Vital Sign Detection and Radar Self-Motion Cancellation through Clutter Identification

This article presents a novel technique to remove the radar self-motion effects (RSMs) for an accurate detection of human vital signs. As opposed to the commonly used techniques, the proposed approach does not require any additional sensor, and instead, it extracts the RSM from the signals reflected by stationary clutters. Since the proposed technique requires to accurately identify the clutter range, two procedures for its automatic identification are proposed, aimed to detect both small and large radar motions. Besides allowing precise and reliable vital sign detection, it provides a compact, lightweight, comfortable, and cost-effective solution since potentially intrusive additional sensors are not required. Simulations have been carried out for validating the proposed approach, with an insight on the influence of different clutter radar cross sections on the sensitivity. Moreover, the effectiveness of the RSM cancellation has been experimentally demonstrated, showing its suitability for different applications, e.g., radar on moving platforms, vibrating tools, handheld devices, unmanned aerial vehicles, and cars.