US 12,742,878 B2 · Techniques for adaptive collection of information about target objects based on situational awareness data

Abstract

Described herein are techniques for adapting usage of radar devices to collect data about target objects based on situational awareness data. Techniques described herein may involve selecting a radar operational configuration (e.g., waveform type, and/or transmitter and/or receiver configuration) and/or frame rate. According to various embodiments, situational awareness data may be indicative of at least one characteristic relating to a vehicle, a target object, and/or the vehicle's environment such as velocity data indicative of the velocity of the vehicle, velocity data indicative of the velocity of a target object, data indicative of at least one weather condition associated with the vehicle's environment, data indicative of the type of road in which the vehicle is traveling, data indicative of the level of traffic in the vehicle's surroundings. Techniques described herein may be deployed for use in connection with computer-assisted driving modules (e.g., ADAS and autonomous vehicles).

Claims20

Dependent claims

A method of using a radar device to generate a range-cross range image of a target object, the method comprising:

using processing circuitry of the radar device:
obtaining situational awareness data for a vehicle, the situational awareness data being indicative of at least one characteristic of the vehicle, at least one characteristic of the target object, and/or at least one characteristic of an environment of the vehicle;
selecting a frame rate based on the situational awareness data for the vehicle;
generating a plurality of range-cross range images corresponding to a respective plurality of frames defined by the frame rate, the generating comprising:
transmitting, using a transmitter of the radar device, a first RF transmit signal and a second RF transmit signal, wherein:
the transmitter comprises a transmit antenna array comprising a plurality of transmit antenna elements arranged along a dimension of the transmit antenna array;
and
transmitting the first RF transmit signal is via the plurality of transmit antenna elements according to a first transmit power level and transmitting the second RF transmit signal is via the plurality of transmit antenna elements according to a second transmit power level that is different from the first transmit power level;
receiving, using a receiver of the radar device, one or more RF signals generated at least in part by reflection of the first RF transmit signal and/or the second RF transmit signal from the target object;
and
for a particular frame of the plurality of frames, generating a respective range-cross range image using the one or more RF signals received by the receiver of the radar device during the particular frame;
and
outputting the plurality of range-cross range images.

10 more elements

A method of using a radar device to generate a range-cross range image of a target object, the method comprising:

using processing circuitry of the radar device:
obtaining situational awareness data for a vehicle, the situational awareness data being indicative of at least one characteristic of the vehicle, at least one characteristic of the target object, and/or at least one characteristic of an environment of the vehicle;
selecting a frame rate based on the situational awareness data for the vehicle;
generating a plurality of range-cross range images corresponding to a respective plurality of frames defined by the frame rate, the generating comprising:
transmitting, using a transmitter of the radar device, a first RF transmit signal and a second RF transmit signal;
receiving using a receiver of the radar device, one or more RF signals generated at least in part by reflection of the first RF transmit signal and/or the second RF transmit signal from the target object, wherein:
the receiver comprises a receive antenna array comprising a plurality of receive antenna elements arranged along a dimension of the receive antenna array;
receiving the one or more RF signals comprises:
using a first subset of the plurality of receive antenna elements during a first time period;
and
using a second subset of the plurality of receive antenna elements during a second time period that is after the first time period, the second subset of the plurality of receive antenna elements being different from the first subset of the plurality of receive antenna elements;
and
the one or more RF signals are received during the first time period and/or the second time period;
and
for a particular frame of the plurality of frames, generating a respective range-cross range image using the one or more RF signals received by the receiver of the radar device during the particular frame,
wherein the first time period and the second time period are within the particular frame;
and
outputting the plurality of range-cross range images.

15 more elements

A method of using a radar device to generate a range-cross range image of a target object, the method comprising:

using processing circuitry of the radar device:
obtaining situational awareness data for a vehicle, the situational awareness data being indicative of at least one characteristic of the vehicle, at least one characteristic of the target object, and/or at least one characteristic of an environment of the vehicle;
selecting a frame rate based on the situational awareness data for the vehicle;
generating a plurality of range-cross range images corresponding to a respective plurality of frames defined by the frame rate, the generating comprising:
transmitting, using a transmitter of the radar device, a first RF transmit signal and a second RF transmit signal;
receiving, using a receiver of the radar device, one or more RF signals generated at least in part by reflection of the first RF transmit signal and/or the second RF transmit signal from the target object, wherein:
the receiver comprises a receive antenna array comprising a plurality of receive antenna elements arranged along a dimension of the receive antenna array;
receiving the one or more RF signals comprises:
operating the plurality of receive antenna elements according to a first receive phase shift pattern during a first time period;
and
operating the plurality of receive antenna elements according to a second receive phase shift pattern during a second time period that is after the first time period, the second receive phase shift pattern being different from the first receive phase shift pattern;
and
the one or more RF signals are received during the first time period and/or the second time period;
and
for a particular frame of the plurality of frames, generating a respective range-cross range image using the one or more RF signals received by the receiver of the radar device during the particular frame,
wherein the first time period and the second time period are within the particular frame;
and
outputting the plurality of range-cross range images.

15 more elements

A radar device for generating a range-cross range image of a target object, the radar device comprising:

a transmitter configured to transmit a first RF transmit signal and transmit a second RF transmit signal, wherein:
the transmitter comprises a transmit antenna array comprising a plurality of transmit antenna elements arranged along a dimension of the transmit antenna array;
and
the transmitter is configured to transmit the first RF transmit signal via the plurality of transmit antenna elements according to a first transmit power level and transmit the second RF transmit signal via the plurality of transmit antenna elements according to a second transmit power level that is different from the first transmit power level;
a receiver configured to receive one or more RF signals generated at least in part by reflection of the first RF transmit signal and/or the second RF transmit signal from the target object;
and
processing circuitry configured to:
obtain situational awareness data for a vehicle, the situational awareness data being indicative of at least one characteristic of the vehicle, at least one characteristic of the target object, and/or at least one characteristic of an environment of the vehicle;
select a frame rate based on the situational awareness data for the vehicle;
generate a plurality of range-cross range images corresponding to a respective plurality of frames defined by the frame rate at least in part by:
for a particular frame of the plurality of frames, generating a respective range-cross range image using the one or more RF signals received by the receiver of the radar device during the particular frame;
and
output the plurality of range-cross range images.

10 more elements

A radar device for generating a range-cross range image of a target object, the radar device comprising:

a transmitter configured to transmit a first RF transmit signal and transmit a second RF transmit signal;
a receiver configured to receive one or more RF signals generated at least in part by reflection of the first RF transmit signal and/or the second RF transmit signal from the target object, wherein:
the receiver comprises a receive antenna array comprising a plurality of receive antenna elements arranged along a dimension of the receive antenna array;
and
the receiver is configured to:
use a first subset of the plurality of receive antenna elements during a first time period;
use a second subset of the plurality of receive antenna elements that is different from the first subset of the plurality of receive antenna elements during a second time period that is after the first time period and within the particular frame;
and
receive the one or more RF signals during the first time period and/or the second time period;
and
processing circuitry configured to:
obtain situational awareness data for a vehicle, the situational awareness data being indicative of at least one characteristic of the vehicle, at least one characteristic of the target object, and/or at least one characteristic of an environment of the vehicle;
select a frame rate based on the situational awareness data for the vehicle;
generate a plurality of range-cross range images corresponding to a respective plurality of frames defined by the frame rate at least in part by:
for a particular frame of the plurality of frames, generating a respective range-cross range image using the one or more RF signals received by the radar device during the particular frame,
wherein the first time period and the second time period are within the particular frame;
and
output the plurality of range-cross range images.

15 more elements

A radar device for generating a range-cross range image of a target object, the radar device comprising:

a transmitter configured to transmit a first RF transmit signal and transmit a second RF transmit signal;
a receiver configured to receive one or more RF signals generated at least in part by reflection of the first RF transmit signal and/or the second RF transmit signal from the target object, wherein:
the receiver comprises a receive antenna array comprising a plurality of receive antenna elements arranged along a first dimension of the receive antenna array;
and
the receiver is configured to:
operate according to a first receive phase shift pattern during a first time period;
operate according to a second receive phase shift pattern that is different from the first receive phase shift pattern during a second time period that is after the first time period;
and
receive the one or more RF signals during the first time period and/or the second time period;
and
processing circuitry configured to:
obtain situational awareness data for a vehicle, the situational awareness data being indicative of at least one characteristic of the vehicle, at least one characteristic of the target object, and/or at least one characteristic of an environment of the vehicle;
select a frame rate based on the situational awareness data for the vehicle;
generate a plurality of range-cross range images corresponding to a respective plurality of frames defined by the frame rate at least in part by:
for a particular frame of the plurality of frames, generating a respective range-cross range image using the one or more RF signals received by the radar device during the particular frame,
wherein the first time period and the second time period are within the particular frame;
and
output the plurality of range-cross range images.

15 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Techniques for adaptive collection of information about target objects based on situational awareness data

Life of this patent

Techniques for adaptive collection of information about target objects based on situational awareness data

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims20