Design of a broadband beam-forming antenna for emergence detection and rescue applications

A broadband beam-forming antenna is designed for intelligent emergency detection and rescue systems. Recognizing emergencies hinges on identifying and analyzing the motion of humans. Combined with deep learning, the radio frequency signal of an antenna can capture the motion of humans behind a wall and in closed rooms using frequency-modulated carrier wave (FMCW) signals operating in broadband from 5.56 GHz to 7.25 GHz (26%). The beam-forming antenna is composed of four slot-coupled patch antennas. The proposed array antenna satisfies a broad FMCW bandwidth and sufficient gain over 15.8 dBi in the overall bandwidth. To extend the focusing capability, we specifically design a 4 × 1 array structure and optimize the distance of antenna to 32.9 mm (0.7 λ₀). The antenna is compact enough to realize a handheld motion-tracking device. The array antenna forms a fan beam with a wide beam coverage and low side lobe level. The motion of a human body is tracked as a beam scanning by the antenna array. To accomplish this goal with adaptive array architectures, we implement beam-forming techniques with a phase shifter, an amplifier, and a power divider.