Experimental validation of supervised DPCA reciprocal filter in OFDM radar on moving platforms

In this paper, we present the experimental validation of a supervised reciprocal filter-enabled Displaced Phase Center Antenna (DPCA) technique for OFDM radar systems onboard moving platforms. Our setup features a two-channel receiving array installed on a vehicle and employs an onboard OFDM transmitter as a radar illuminator. The experiments were conducted in a parking area, capturing the radar echoes from stationary and moving scatterers to assess the target detection and clutter cancellation performance. Particularly, we investigate the practical benefits of the supervised reciprocal filter on the DPCA approach for mobile OFDM radar and we compare it with matched filter (MF) and reciprocal filter (RF) based solutions. The experimental results confirm the theoretical expectations and highlight the advantages of the proposed method, particularly in scenarios with moderate clutter returns.