A radar device for automotive applications comprises a radar circuit configured to process a radar signal that has a first signal portion and a second signal portion, wherein the first signal portion occupies a first frequency band and the second signal portion occupies a second frequency band that is separate from the first frequency band. An antenna device of the radar device comprises a first and second antenna element that are both coupled to a common signal port of the radar circuit and the radar device is configured to route both the first signal portion and the second signal portion via the common signal port between the radar circuit and the antenna device. The antenna device is a frequency selective antenna device that transduces the first signal portion via the first antenna element and not via the second antenna element and that transduces the second signal portion at least via the second antenna element.

A method for operating an angle resolving radar device for automotive applications comprises: routing at least a first and second antenna signal between a radar circuit and an antenna device, wherein the first and second antenna signals are routed via a common signal port of the radar circuit; transducing between the first antenna signal and a first radiation field, the first radiation field having a first phase center, and between the second antenna signal and a second radiation field, the second radiation field having a second phase center, wherein a location of the second phase center is shifted with respect to a location of the first phase center; constructing at least one angle resolving virtual antenna array using the location of the first phase center as a first antenna position and the location of the second phase center of the second radiation field as a second antenna position.

An object detection device includes a first sensor, a second sensor, a calculation range selector and an estimator. The first sensor outputs a radio frequency (RF) signal, receives a reflected RF signal reflected from an object, and obtains a first measurement value for the object based on a received reflected RF signal. The second sensor obtains a second measurement value for the object by sensing a physical characteristic from the object. The physical characteristic sensed by the second sensor is different from a characteristic of the object measured as the first measurement value obtained by the first sensor. The calculation range selector sets a first reference range based on the second measurement value. The first reference range represents a range of execution of a first calculation for detecting a position of the object using a first algorithm. The estimator performs the first calculation only on the first reference range using the first measurement value, and generates a first result value as a result of performing the first calculation. The first result value represents the position of the object.

A radar sensor system includes an antenna module configured to generate an array of real signal measurements that correspond to signals transmitted from first antennas arranged on the antenna module, reflected from an object in the environment, and received by second antennas arranged on the antenna module, and a virtual array (VA) estimation module configured to generate a VA including the real signal measurements and a plurality of virtual signal measurements that correspond to locations in the VA between the real signal measurements and generate, based on the VA, detection data indicative of the object in the environment.

An RF imaging receiver using photonic spatial beam processing is provided with an optical beam steerer that acts on the individual modulated optical signals to induce individual phase delays that produce a phase delay with a linear term, and possibly spherical or aspherical terms, across a two-dimensional wavefront of the composite optical signal to steer the composite optical signal and move the location of the spot on the optical detector array. The optical beam steerer may change the path length or a refractive index for each of the modulated optical signals to induce the requisite phase delays. The optical beam steerer may be implemented, for example, with a Risley prism or liquid crystal or MEMs spatial light modulator.

A method for interpolated virtual aperture array radar tracking includes: transmitting first and second probe signals; receiving a first reflected probe signal at a radar array; receiving a second reflected probe signal at the radar array; calculating a target range from at least one of the first and second reflected probe signals; corresponding signal instances of the first reflected probe signal to physical receiver elements of the radar array; corresponding signal instances of the second reflected probe signal to virtual elements of the radar array; interpolating signal instances; calculating a first target angle; and calculating a position of the tracking target relative to the radar array from the target range and first target angle.

A system for determining a spatial disposition or a characteristic of a target external to a terrestrial vehicle is provided. The system may comprise a radar antenna array configured to transmit and receive radar signals, and a controller operatively coupled to the radar antenna array. The controller can be configured to use spatial information of the terrestrial vehicle and a spatial configuration of the radar antenna array to generate an enhanced main lobe by attenuating one or more side lobes in an effective sensitivity pattern associated with the radar antenna array or enhancing a main lobe in the effective sensitivity pattern associated with the radar antenna array. The controller can be configured to use the enhanced main lobe to determine (i) the spatial disposition of the target relative to the terrestrial vehicle or (ii) the characteristic of the target.

Examples disclosed herein relate to a sensor fusion system for use in an autonomous vehicle. The sensor fusion system has a radar detection unit with a metastructure antenna to direct a beamform in a field-of-view (“FoV”) of the vehicle, an analysis module to receive information about a detected object and determine control actions for the radar detection unit and the metastructure antenna based on the received information and on environmental information, and an autonomous control unit to control actions of the vehicle based on the received information and the environmental information.

An electronic device comprises a transmitting antenna that transmits a transmitted wave, a receiving antenna that receives a reflected wave obtained by reflection of the transmitted wave, and a controller. The controller generates a first sample based on a result obtained by subjecting a beat signal generated based on a transmitted signal based on the transmitted wave and a received signal based on the reflected wave to a first fast Fourier transform process. The controller generates a second sample based on a result obtained by subjecting the first sample to a second fast Fourier transform process, and estimates an arrival direction of the reflected wave based on the second sample. The controller sets the first sample from the beat signals in which the peak in the result obtained by performing the first fast Fourier transform process is equal to or higher than a first threshold value.

An autonomously reconfigurable surface for adaptive antenna nulling includes a lattice of electrically conductive elements (which may be embodied as crossed metallic dipoles) mounted on a thin and preferably conformal surface and aperiodically loaded with reactance tuning elements and/or RF (and typically high power) sensing circuits. Additional elements mounted on this surface include analog to digital convertors (ADCs), digital to analog convertors (DACs), and microcontroller(s). The analog outputs of the DACs are networked to reactance tuning elements via, for example, a network of thin copper traces. The analog inputs of the ADCs are networked to the RF sensing circuits via a network, for example, of thin copper traces. The digital outputs of ADCs and the digital inputs of DACs are networked to microcontroller(s) via a network, for example, of thin copper traces. An embodiment of the adaptive nulling surface can be mounted over antennas and apertures as a retrofit antenna cover or as an overlay applied to existing radomes or over a new design antenna. Once exposed to a high power radio frequency radiation, this surface determines the direction of the incident high power source and adaptively adjusts the reactance of tuning elements in the surface to reconfigure the radiation pattern of the antenna which it is covering to place a null in the direction of the interference while allowing normal operation at other angles.