Abstract: A novel and useful safety functionality assurance mechanism incorporating an RF built in self-test (RFBIST) system in a radar system having a plurality of transmitter devices and receiver devices. The RFBIST functions to verify, inter alia, that the transmitted signal is operating correctly and that all channels transmit a proper, valid or ‘legal’ signal and that the receiver devices are also operating correctly. A higher level of safety assurance is achieved by comparing safety data between the receiver devices. In one embodiment, the signal received from the various transmitter devices is compared. The RFBIST circuit block eliminates the physical transmit antenna position properties to compare the transmitted signal properties after signal path elimination. Thus, the present invention is capable of (1) validating multiple transmitter devices with a single receiver device and (2) validating multiple receiver devices with a single transmitter device.

Abstract: A method for increasing the effective aperture of radar switch/MIMO antenna array, using a low number of transmit (Tx) and receive (Rx) army elements, according to which an array of radar physical receive (Rx)/Transmit (Tx) elements are arranged in at least two opposing Rx rows and at least two opposing Tx columns, such that each row includes a plurality of receive (Rx) elements uniformly spaced from each other and each column includes a plurality of transmit (Tx) elements uniformly spaced from each other, the array forming a rectangular physical aperture. Used as a switch array, a first Tx element from one column is activated to transmit a radar pulse during a predetermined time slot. Reflections of the first transmission are received in all Rx elements, thereby virtually replicating the two opposing Rx rows about an origin determined by the location of the first Tx element within the rectangular physical aperture.