Patent ID: 7898462

Claim:
A radar system comprising: a plurality of antenna sub-systems, each operable to transmit and receive radio frequency (RF) signals in a corresponding sector, wherein the plurality of antenna sub-systems are positioned such that the corresponding sectors cover a total range of about 180 degrees to about 360 degrees without rotation of the radar system; and shared backend circuitry coupled to each of the plurality of antenna sub-systems and operable to process signals from each of the plurality of antenna sub-systems to detect the presence of an obstacle in one of the corresponding sectors; wherein each of the plurality of antenna sub-systems comprises: a scanning transmit antenna; two scanning receive antennae separated by a vertical distance; and a servo controller configured to control a scanning motion of the scanning transmit antenna and the two scanning receive antennae based on control signals received from the shared backend circuitry; wherein the servo controller is configured to control the scanning motion of the two scanning receive antennae such that the scanning motion is synchronized; and wherein the shared backend circuitry is configured to determine the elevation of the detected obstacles based on a phase difference between signals received by each of the two scanning receive antennae.