Mutual interferences in frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) LiDARs

•The Frequency-Modulated Continuous-Wave LiDARs have the mutual interference problem ether.•There are two mutual interference in FMCW LiDARs, a transient interference, and an in-band interference.•The transient interference degrades the SNR of the echo signal, so it reduces the maximum detectable range of the LiDAR.•The in-band interference introduces false alarms, so it can induce ghost images or targets in the 3D-scanning LiDAR. This paper investigates mutual interferences between FMCW LiDARs both experimentally and theoretically. We show that the FMCW LiDARs have mutual interference problems as those of the FMCW radars. The transient interference degrades the signal-to-noise ratio and the in-band interference generates ghost images. Finally, we discuss their impacts to the autonomous vehicles, and mitigation methods.