# US 11,079,487 B2 · Communication of infrastructure information to a vehicle via ground penetrating radar > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 11,079,487 B2 - Document ID: US11079487B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 15/683,357 - Filed: 2017-08-22 - Published: 2019-02-28 - Granted: 2021-08-03 - Earliest claimed: 2017-08-22 - Assignees: Ford Global Technologies, LLC - Applicants: Ford Global Technologies, LLC - Inventors: Eric L. Reed; Jonathan Diedrich; Adil Nizam Siddiqui; Thomas Michael McQuade - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11079487B2 ## CPC - G01S 13/931: of land vehicles - G01S 13/605: {using a pattern, backscattered from the ground, to determine speed or drift by measuring the time required to cover a fixed distance} - G01S 13/75: using transponders powered from received waves, e.g. using passive transponders {, or using passive reflectors} - G01S 13/885: {for ground probing (prospecting or detecting using electromagnetic waves G01V3/12)} - G05D 1/00: Control of position, course, altitude or attitude of land, water, air or space vehicles, e.g. using automatic pilots (drive control systems specially adapted for autonomous road vehicles B60W60/00) - G05D 1/0257: {using a radar (radar systems designed for anti-collision purposes between land vehicles or between land vehicle and fixed obstacles G01S13/931)} - G05D 1/0261: {using magnetic plots} - G08G 1/0967: Systems involving transmission of highway information, e.g. weather, speed limits (transmission of navigation instructions to the vehicle G08G1/0968) - G08G 1/096783: {where the origin of the information is a roadside individual element} - G01S 2013/932: {using own vehicle data, e.g. ground speed, steering wheel direction} - G01S 2013/9329: {cooperating with reflectors or transponders} - G01S: RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES - G05D: SYSTEMS FOR CONTROLLING OR REGULATING NON-ELECTRIC VARIABLES - G08G: TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEMS (guiding railway traffic, ensuring the safety of railway traffic B61L; arrangement of road signs or traffic signals E01F9/00; radar or analogous systems, sonar systems, lidar systems specially adapted for traffic control G01S13/91, G01S15/88, G01S17/88; {radar or analogous systems, sonar systems, lidar systems specially adapted for anti-collision purposes G01S13/93, G01S15/93, G01S17/93}) ## Abstract Method and apparatus are disclosed for communication of infrastructure information to a vehicle via ground penetrating radar. A vehicle comprising an antenna positioned to broadcast radio waves below the vehicle, a ground penetrating radar system, and an active safety module. The ground penetrating radar system determines types of reflectors and a spatial relationship between the reflectors based on radar cross-sections detected by the antenna, and generates a signature based on the shapes and the spatial relationship. The active safety module determines environmental data based on the signature, and autonomously control the vehicle based on the environmental data. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A vehicle comprising: an antenna positioned to broadcast radio waves below the vehicle; a ground penetrating radar system to: determine shapes of reflectors and a spatial relationship between the reflectors based on radar cross-sections detected by the antenna, wherein the reflectors are embedded below a road surface, wherein the reflectors are positioned in a predefined pattern providing a unique spatial relationship indicative of environmental data that is outside of the road surface, wherein each of the reflectors in the unique spatial relationship has one or more components on at least one of an x-axis, a y-axis, and a z-axis; and generate a signature based on the shapes and the spatial relationship; and an active safety module to: determine a match between the signature and the predefined pattern; determine environmental data based on the match; and autonomously control the vehicle based on the environmental data. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the radio waves have a frequency between 10 MHz and 2.4 GHz. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the radar cross-sections are indicative of at least two types of the reflectors. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the environmental data includes at least a direction of travel and a lane identifier for a portion of the road on which the vehicle is driving. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the signature corresponds to the environmental data, the environmental data including one of traffic signal information, speed limit information, or caution information. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the radar cross-sections are cause by the reflectors that are selected from a group of a flat plate, a sphere, and a tetrahedron. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the spatial relationship is a three-dimensional spatial relationship indicating that at least two of the reflectors are embedded at different predetermined depths below the road surface.