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arXiv · 2507.16988

RAPTAR: Radar Radiation Pattern Acquisition through Automated Collaborative Robotics

Abstract

Accurate characterization of modern on-chip antennas remains challenging, as current probe-station techniques offer limited angular coverage, rely on bespoke hardware, and require frequent manual alignment. This research introduces RAPTAR (Radiation Pattern Acquisition through Robotic Automation), a portable, state-of-the-art, and autonomous system based on collaborative robotics. RAPTAR enables 3D radiation-pattern measurement of integrated radar modules without dedicated anechoic facilities. The system is designed to address the challenges of testing radar modules mounted in diverse real-world configurations, including vehicles, UAVs, AR/VR headsets, and biomedical devices, where traditional measurement setups are impractical. A 7-degree-of-freedom Franka cobot holds the receiver probe and performs collision-free manipulation across a hemispherical spatial domain, guided by real-time motion planning and calibration accuracy with RMS error below 0.9 mm. The system achieves an angular resolution upto 2.5 degree and integrates seamlessly with RF instrumentation for near- and far-field power measurements. Experimental scans of a 60 GHz radar module show a mean absolute error of less than 2 dB compared to full-wave electromagnetic simulations ground truth. Benchmarking against baseline method demonstrates 36.5% lower mean absolute error, highlighting RAPTAR accuracy and repeatability.

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BibTeXRIS

Maaz Qureshi, Mohammad Omid Bagheri, Abdelrahman Elbadrawy, William Melek, George Shaker. 2025-07-22. RAPTAR: Radar Radiation Pattern Acquisition through Automated Collaborative Robotics. https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.16988

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