Systems and methods are provided for adapting automotive mmW radar technology to meet the requirements of autonomous unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) systems. Embodiments of the present disclosure provide solutions for several design challenges from this adaptation, such as utilizing a limited number of antenna channels to scan in both azimuth and elevation.

The present invention relates to a radar device for a vehicle which may determine a target as a single target or multiple targets according to a dispersion level of a slope for each reception channel, calculated through a phase difference for each reception channel of a reflection signal and an arrangement interval for each reception channel, and estimate the angle of the target so as to acquire the angle of the target using a small amount of calculations, and a method for estimating the angle of a target using the same. An embodiment of the present invention provides a radar device for a vehicle, which detects a target located in the front side of a vehicle, comprising an electronic control unit configured to: calculate the slope of a reflection signal received for each reception channel, using a phase difference for each reception channel of the reflection signal and an arrangement interval for each reception channel, wherein the reflection signal is obtained by transmitting a predetermined transmission signal and receiving the transmitted transmission signal which is reflected back from the target; and determine the target as a single target or multiple targets according to a dispersion level of the calculated slope so as to estimate the angle to the determined target.

A method and processor to determine spatial information regarding a vehicle. The method includes receiving at least one initial frame of FMCW radar data including spatial information regarding the vehicle associated with a radar signal reflected back from the vehicle via a surface of at least one stationary object other than the vehicle. The method also includes receiving at least one further frame of FMCW radar data including: spatial information regarding the vehicle associated with a radar signal reflected back from the vehicle via the surface of at least one stationary object other than the vehicle, and spatial information regarding the vehicle associated with a radar signal reflected directly back from the vehicle. The method further includes using the at least one initial frame of radar data to correct for static clutter associated with the at least one stationary object in the at least one further frame of radar data.

Each pattern being associated with a reception channel, over a given time period, the unsolicited asynchronous replies, of long ADS-B squitters type, transmitted by targets present in the airborne environment of the radar, are detected, each of the squitters containing position information on the target which transmits it; for each detection, the long ADS-B squitter is decoded to check that the detected target is located in accordance with the position information contained in the squitter, the non-conforming detections being rejected; for each detection retained, the time of the detection, the value of the azimuth of the main beam of the antenna and the received power value on each of the reception channels is associated with the detection, the position information contained in the squitters giving the elevation segment wherein the detection is situated; the values obtained over the period being stored, the measured patterns being sampled, by elevation segment, from the stored values.

A vehicular sensing system includes at least one radar sensor disposed at a vehicle and having a field of sensing exterior of the vehicle. The radar sensor includes multiple transmitting antennas and multiple receiving antennas. The at least one radar sensor is part of a suite of sensors that includes a forward viewing camera. Multiple scans of captured radar data are transferred from the at least one radar sensor to an electronic control unit. The system, via processing of transferred multiple scans of captured radar data and transferred image data, detects presence of a plurality of objects, generates a virtual antenna array with a virtual antenna aperture larger than a physical antenna aperture of the at least one radar sensor, and tracks the detected objects. The system, based at least in part on tracking detected objects, provides an output for at least one driving assist system of the vehicle.

The disclosure relates to a method for calibrating at least one signal and/or system parameter of a wave-based measurement system, in particular radar measurement system. At least one receiving unit for receiving signals and an object scene assume several spatial positions relative to each other assume, wherein a relative positioning of the several positions to each other is known or determined, and at these several positions the signals are coherently detected by the at least one receiving unit, whereby a set of several coherent measurement signals is formed.

A vehicle radar system and calibration method that provide for system calibration so that target object parameters can be calculated with improved accuracy. Generally speaking, the calibration method uses a number of hypothesized calibration matrices, which represent educated guesses for possible system or array calibrations, to obtain a number of beamforming images. A blurring metric is then derived for each beamforming image, where the blurring metric is generally representative of the quality or resolution of the beamforming image. The method then selects hypothesized calibration matrices based on their blurring metrics, where the selected matrices are associated with the blurring metrics having the best beamforming image resolution (e.g., the least amount of image blurriness). The selected hypothesized calibration matrices are then used to generate new calibration matrices, which in turn can be used to calibrate the vehicle radar system so that more accurate target object parameters can be obtained.

A radar apparatus (5) for detecting multipath signal propagation when determining an elevation angle of an object, comprising an antenna array with which the radar apparatus is arranged to form at least three separate antenna beams (11, 12, 13) comprising a first antenna beam (11) having an angle of elevation above horizontal, and a separate second antenna beam (12) having an angle of elevation at or above horizontal which is less than that of the first antenna beam, and a separate third antenna beam (13) having an angle of elevation below horizontal. The apparatus is arranged to transmit radio pulses from the antenna array; to receive return radio signals within the first, second and third antenna beams; to calculate a measure of the magnitude of a return radio signal received within the third antenna beam using all of said received radio signals collectively; and, to detect multipath signal propagation using said measure.

Disclosed is a method and apparatus for processing a radar signal by correcting a phase distortion. The method includes generating radar data based on a radar transmission signal transmitted through an array antenna of a radar sensor based on a frequency modulation model and a radar reception signal received through the array antenna as the radar transmission signal is reflected by a target, correcting the radar data using a correction vector for correcting a feedline error occurring due to a feedline delay difference between channels of the array antenna, and estimating a direction of arrival corresponding to the corrected radar data using a direction matrix reflecting a phase shift of the corrected radar data according to frequency modulation characteristics of the frequency modulation model.

A vehicular sensing system includes at least one radar sensor disposed at a vehicle and having a field of sensing exterior of the vehicle. The radar sensor includes multiple transmitting antennas and multiple receiving antennas. The at least one radar sensor is part of a suite of sensors that includes a forward viewing camera. Multiple scans of captured radar data are transferred from the at least one radar sensor to an electronic control unit. The system, via processing of transferred multiple scans of captured radar data and transferred image data, detects presence of a plurality of objects, generates a virtual antenna array with a virtual antenna aperture larger than a physical antenna aperture of the at least one radar sensor, and tracks the detected objects. The system, based at least in part on tracking detected objects, provides an output for at least one driving assist system of the vehicle.