Doppler Analysis

Doppler analysis is mainly used to obtain insight in the results of automotive radar simulations, where Doppler shift is critical in subsequent signal processing.

Doppler Shift / Doppler Shift (3D)

To obtain a plot, do the following:
  1. In the results tree, select Power (MS) or Power. These are the power received by the receiver antenna and the power received by a hypothetical isotropic antenna, respectively.
  2. Select the time step of interest (if it was a time-variant simulation).
  3. Click Display > Doppler Analysis and select one of the following:
    • Doppler Shift
      • Hover the cursor over the result pixel of interest for Doppler shift.


        Figure 1. A graph showing for all contributing rays the Doppler shift along the horizontal axis and the power along the vertical axis.
    • Doppler Shift (3D)
      • Click on the pixel of interest. In an automotive radar simulation, there is often just one result pixel, located at the radar position.
        Tip: Zoom in if needed to view the result pixel.


        Figure 2. A 3D plot showing for all contributing rays the Doppler shift and the signal delay along the two horizontal axes and the power along the vertical axis.

Doppler Heat Map

Plot radar results as a heat map, with range and relative velocity along the axes and signal strengths as colors. To obtain a Doppler Heat Map, do the following:
  1. In the results tree, select Power (MS) or Power. These are the power received by the receiver antenna and the power received by a hypothetical isotropic antenna, respectively.
  2. Click Display > Doppler Heat Map.
  3. Click on the radar pixel to generate the heat map.
  4. [Optional] Activate/deactivate the legend on the plot by right-clicking on the plot and click Settings > Layout and select/clear the Display Legend check box.


Figure 3. A heat map for the radar channel profile with range and velocity along the axes.