Radar/Microprocessor Measurement System for Near-Zero Speeds and Vehicle Dynamics

A novel instrumentation system has been developed which enables simple, quick, and accurate measurement of vehicular dynamics within low speed ranges. The system, consisting of a microwave transceiver and microprocessor data acquisition and reduction system, measures the deceleration dynamics of low speed mining and construction equipment. It makes the basic measurement, calculates key parameters such as average deceleration, initial velocity, stopping distance, brake system delay time, and produces auto-scaled graphs of velocity, acceleration, and displacement versus time.