CA-CFAR is Convolution: Fast Target Detection with Machine Learning Accelerator

Research output: Contribution to book/conference proceedings/anthology/reportConference contributionContributedpeer-review

Contributors

Abstract

In radar target detection, Constant False Alarm Rate is a commonly employed detector known for its simplicity and effectiveness. Its sliding-window detection mechanism possesses computational similarity to convolutional operations in machine learning. With the increasing emergence of AI-enhanced radar processing algorithms, systems at the edge tend to be equipped with machine learning accelerators to expedite matrix multiplications and convolutions. This paper introduces a heuristic algorithm that equivalently transforms Cell-Averaging Constant False Alarm Rate (CA-CFAR) to a convolutional operation coupled with nonlinearity. Comparative experiments of the transformed CA-CFAR utilizing machine learning accelerators against the classical CA-CFAR executed on ARM cores demonstrate that our proposed method significantly reduces the processing latency by 35 to 47 times and saves energy by 30 to 40 times. This advancement brings substantial promise for facilitating real-time high-resolution radar target detection without dedicated CFAR accelerators.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publication2024 13th Mediterranean Conference on Embedded Computing (MECO)
PublisherIEEE
Pages1-6
Number of pages6
ISBN (electronic)9798350387568
ISBN (print)979-8-3503-8757-5
Publication statusPublished - 14 Jun 2024
Peer-reviewedYes

Conference

Title2024 13th Mediterranean Conference on Embedded Computing (MECO)
Duration11 - 14 June 2024
LocationBudva, Montenegro

External IDs

Scopus 85199541658

Keywords

Keywords

  • Machine learning, Machine learning algorithms, Object detection, Program processors, Radar, Radar detection, Transforms