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US 12,710,525 B2Granted
Stepped pulse digitally modulated radar
AssigneeGM Cruise Holdings LLC
InventorsJessica Bartholdy Sanson, Gustavo Adolfo Guarín Aristizabal, Andre Giere, Jorge Julio Jácome Muñoz
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Abstract
A radar sensor system transmits a radar signal that comprises first pulses in a first frequency band and second pulses in a second frequency band. The radar sensor system receives a return of the radar signal from a target, wherein the return comprises the first pulses and the second pulses. The radar sensor system concatenates the first pulses and the second pulses, and computes an estimated range to a target based upon a Fourier transform of the concatenated first and second pulses. A range resolution of the estimated range is based upon a bandwidth of a third frequency band that includes the first frequency band and the second frequency band.
Claims18
A method performed by a radar system, the method comprising:
- transmitting a radar signal toward a target, the radar signal comprising a first sequence of first pulses transmitted via a first transmit antenna within a first frequency band and a second sequence of second pulses transmitted via a second transmit antenna within a second frequency band;
- receiving a radar return from the target, the radar return comprising:
- the first sequence of first pulses within the first frequency band, wherein the first pulses in the first sequence are encoded according to a first Barker code;
- and
- the second sequence of second pulses within the second frequency band, wherein the second pulses in the second sequence are encoded according to a second Barker code, wherein the second pulses in the second sequence are received at different times as compared to the first pulses in the first sequence, and wherein the second frequency band is different from the first frequency band;
- concatenating a frequency domain representation of the first sequence of first pulses and a frequency domain representation of the second sequence of second pulses to generate a concatenated pulse sequence;
- computing an estimated range to the target based upon the first sequence of first pulses and the second sequence of second pulses, wherein the estimated range has a resolution that is based upon bandwidth of a third frequency band that includes the first frequency band and the second frequency band, wherein computing the estimated range comprises computing an inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) over the concatenated pulse sequence, wherein computing the estimated range is based upon the IFFT;
- and
- navigating an autonomous vehicle based in part on the estimated range,
- wherein the autonomous vehicle is a first autonomous vehicle operating within a threshold distance of a second autonomous vehicle, wherein the first autonomous vehicle transmits the first sequence of first pulses and the second sequence of second pulses in accordance with a first order, and wherein the second autonomous vehicle transmits the first sequence of first pulses and the second sequence of second pulses in accordance with a second order different from the first order, wherein the first autonomous vehicle and the second autonomous vehicle transmit the pulse sequences using a same set of center frequencies in the first order and the second order respectively.
7 more elements
A radar system comprising:
- a first transmit antenna that transmits, toward a target, a first plurality of first pulses within a first frequency band, wherein the first pulses in the first sequence are encoded according to a first Barker code;
- a second transmit antenna that transmits, toward the target, a second plurality of second pulses within a second frequency band, wherein the second pulses in the second sequence are encoded according to a second Barker code, wherein the first transmit antenna and the second transmit antenna transmit the first pulses and second pulses at different times, and wherein the first frequency band and the second frequency band are different;
- an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) that receives an analog signal that is indicative of a radar return received from the target, the radar return based upon a radar signal reflecting from the target, the ADC configured to digitally sample the analog signal to generate radar data that is indicative of the radar return;
- and
- a hardware logic component that is configured to perform acts comprising:
- computing an estimated range to the target based upon the radar data, wherein the estimated range has a resolution that is based upon bandwidth of a third frequency band that includes the first frequency band the second frequency band,
- wherein an autonomous vehicle is navigated based in part on the estimated range, and wherein the radar data includes a first portion that is representative of a reflection of the first pulses from the target and a second portion that is representative of a reflection of the second pulses from the target, the acts further comprising:
- concatenating a frequency domain representation of the first portion and a frequency domain representation of the second portion to generate a concatenated pulse sequence, and wherein computing the estimated range comprises computing an inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) over the concatenated pulse sequence, wherein computing the estimated range is based upon the IFFT,
- wherein the autonomous vehicle is a first autonomous vehicle operating within a threshold distance of a second autonomous vehicle, wherein the first autonomous vehicle transmits the first sequence of first pulses and the second sequence of second pulses in accordance with a first order, and wherein the second autonomous vehicle transmits the first sequence of first pulses and the second sequence of second pulses in accordance with a second order different from the first order, wherein the first autonomous vehicle and the second autonomous vehicle transmit the pulse sequences using a same set of center frequencies in the first order and the second order respectively.
6 more elements
A radar system comprising:
- a first transmit antenna;
- a second transmit antenna;
- a receive antenna;
- and
- a hardware logic component that is configured to perform acts comprising:
- causing the first transmit antenna to transmit, toward a target, a first sequence of first pulses within a first frequency band, wherein the first pulses in the first sequence are encoded according to a first Barker code;
- causing the second transmit antenna to transmit, toward the target, a second sequence of second pulses within a second frequency band, wherein the second pulses in the second sequence are encoded according to a second Barker code, wherein the first transmit antenna and the second transmit antenna transmit the first pulses and second pulses at different times, and wherein the first frequency band and the second frequency band are different;
- responsive to receiving a return of the radar signal from the target by way of the receive antenna, computing an estimated range to the target based upon the first pulses and the second pulses, wherein the estimated range has a resolution that is based upon bandwidth of a third frequency band that includes the first frequency band and the second frequency band, wherein a frequency domain representation of the first pulses and a frequency domain representation of the second pulses are concatenated to generate a concatenated pulse sequence, wherein computing the estimated range comprises computing an inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) over the concatenated pulse sequence, wherein computing the estimated range is based upon the IFFT;
- and
- navigating an autonomous vehicle based in part on the estimated range,
- wherein the autonomous vehicle is a first autonomous vehicle operating within a threshold distance of a second autonomous vehicle, wherein the first autonomous vehicle transmits the first sequence of first pulses and the second sequence of second pulses in accordance with a first order, and wherein the second autonomous vehicle transmits the first sequence of first pulses and the second sequence of second pulses in accordance with a second order different from the first order, wherein the first autonomous vehicle and the second autonomous vehicle transmit the pulse sequences using a same set of center frequencies in the first order and the second order respectively.
8 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.