Comparative study of three algorithms for estimation of echo parameters in UWB radar module for monitoring of human movements

•Comparison of algorithms for estimation of radar echo parameters.•Algorithm based on the maximum-envelope of the radar data.•Algorithm based on curve-fitting in the spectrum domain of radar data.•Modified CLEAN algorithm applied to radar data.•Extensive experiments based on semi-synthetic and real-world radar data.

The research reported in this paper is related to the ultra-wide-band radar technology that may be employed in care services for elderly and disabled persons. Three algorithms for preprocessing of measurement data from an impulse radar sensor, when applied for such people monitoring, are compared with respect to the uncertainty of estimation of echo parameters. These are: an algorithm based on the maximum-envelope of the measured radar data, an algorithm based on curve-fitting in the spectrum domain of those data, and a modified CLEAN algorithm. Results of the numerical experiments performed on both semi-synthetic data and real-world data, obtained by means of an impulse-radar sensor, are demonstrated.