Radar odometry system and method

A method for determining a position of a vehicle having a transmitter and at least two antenna each associated with a receiver, the method comprising:

• (A) transmitting a first pulsed signal towards a target, the first pulsed signal having a first frequency;
• (B) receiving a first reflected signal from the target at a first antenna of the at least two antenna, the first reflected signal corresponding to the first pulsed signal reflected from the target;
• (C) determining a first frequency difference between the first pulsed signal and the first reflected signal, the first frequency difference corresponding to a first range between the vehicle and the target;
• (D)) transmitting a second pulsed signal towards the target, the second pulsed signal having a second frequency;
• (E) receiving a second reflected signal from the target at a second antenna of the at least two antenna, the second reflected signal corresponding to the second pulsed signal reflected from the target;
• (F) determining a second frequency difference between the second pulsed signal and the second reflected signal, the second frequency difference corresponding to a second range between the vehicle and the target;
• (G) determining a velocity of the vehicle based on the first range and the second range;
• and
• (H) determining a position of the vehicle based on the velocity.

A system for determining a position of a vehicle, the system comprising:

• a transmitter configured to:
• transmit a first pulsed signal towards a target, the first pulsed signal having a first frequency;
• and
• transmit a second pulsed signal towards the target, the second pulsed signal having a second frequency;
• a receiver configured to:
• receive a first reflected signal from the target at a first antenna of the at least two antenna, the first reflected signal corresponding to the first pulsed signal reflected from the target;
• and
• receive a second reflected signal from the target at a second antenna of the at least two antenna, the second reflected signal corresponding to the second pulsed signal reflected from the target;
• a processor configured to:
• determine a first frequency difference between the first pulsed signal and the first reflected signal, the first frequency difference corresponding to a first range between the vehicle and the target, the first frequency difference having a first value;
• determine a second frequency difference between the second pulsed signal and the second reflected signal, the second frequency difference corresponding to a second range between the vehicle and the target, the second frequency difference having a second value greater than the first value;
• compare the first value with the second value;
• determine that a position associated with the second reflected signal is a nadir range pixel, the nadir range pixel corresponding to the second range;
• and
• determine a velocity of the vehicle based on the first range and the second range, the determining the position is based on the velocity and the position corresponds to a vehicle position.