Virtual Verification of Millimeter-Wave Radar Function of an Autonomous Vehicle under Weather Interference

At present, the 77GHz millimeter-wave (MMW) radar is considered to be the most promising vehicle sensor in the automatic vehicle perception system. Although MMW radar is less affected by the weather and can reliably obtain information in bad weather, it does not mean that MMW radar is completely immune to weather. Aiming at the maximum detection range attenuation of the MMW radar in extreme weather, the article constructs the detection range attenuation model of the MMW radar in different weather conditions. Aiming at the impact of MMW detection attenuation on the environmental perception of autonomous driving, Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) and adaptive cruise control (ACC) algorithms are designed. We established the model and algorithm on the CARLA virtual simulation platform and simulated MMW radar detection attenuation to test the driving safety of automatic driving under different weather conditions. The simulation results show that MMW radar can well perceive the surrounding environment information under different weather conditions, ensure driving safety and realize the automatic driving function. However, there will be some differences in braking distance braking time, and the motion state of the vehicle is more vulnerable to the weather in the process of AEB.