Systems and methods for side-directed radar from a vehicle

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10317524-B2
Application number	US-201615262568-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 12, 2016
Priority date	Apr 15, 2016
Publication date	Jun 11, 2019
Grant date	Jun 11, 2019

Abstract

A system and method to sense an environment based on data acquired by side looking radar. For example, a side looking radar is mounted on one or both sides of a ground-based vehicle and performs measurements from environment while the vehicle is moving. As the vehicle moves, a scan of the environment is therefore performed, wherein movement of the vehicle provides another dimension of information for the scan. In another example, the radar can further scan in the vertical plane at a fixed side looking angle to increase the field of view. A 3D map and localization can be determined from the scan.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A sensing system comprising:
a ground-based vehicle configured to move in a direction of travel;
at least one radar system mountable to the ground-based vehicle, each radar system configured to emit radio waves at a fixed sideward azimuth angle to the direction of travel, capture electromagnetic radiation, and generate radar data based on the captured electromagnetic radiation while the vehicle is moving;
memory; and
a processor operably coupled to the memory and each radar system, the processor configured to execute computer instructions stored in the memory, the computer instructions causing the processor to:
receive speed information and positioning information of the vehicle from a controller of vehicle while the vehicle is moving;
generate a three-dimensional map of an environment surrounding the vehicle based on the radar data received from each radar system, the speed information and the positioning information of the vehicle, the three-dimensional map including objects; and
generate a second three-dimensional map of a static environment surrounding the vehicle by identifying dynamic objects from the objects included in map of the environment and removing the dynamic objects from the map.

2. The sensing system of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to execute computer instructions stored on the memory to cause the processor to process the radar data to generate 3D point clouds or radar images and wherein the map is generated based on the 3D point clouds or radar images.

3. The sensing system of claim 1 , wherein the vehicle includes a body having a front which faces in-line with the direction of travel and two lateral sides, wherein the at least one radar system is mountable to one of the lateral sides.

4. The sensing system of claim 1 , wherein the vehicle further includes a shell, wherein at least one of the at least one radar system is mountable interior of the shell.

5. The sensing system of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to execute computer instructions stored on the memory to cause the processor to control the radar system to emit radio waves only sideward to the direction of travel.

6. The sensing system of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to execute computer instructions stored on the memory to cause the processor to control the radar system to vertically scan in a 2D vertical plane.

7. The sensing system of claim 1 , wherein the vehicle is an autonomous vehicle.

8. The sensing system of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to execute computer instructions stored on the memory to cause the processor to process the radar data by applying synthetic aperture radar (SAR) techniques to produce 3D images.

9. A method for radar sensing from a ground-based vehicle using at least one radar system mountable to the ground-based vehicle, the method comprising:
moving the vehicle in a direction of travel;
controlling emitting, from the at least one each radar system to emit radio waves sideward to the direction of travel at a fixed sideward azimuth angle to the direction of travel of the vehicle;
processing, at each radar system, electromagnetic radiation captured by the radar system to generate radar data while the vehicle is moving;
receiving speed information and positioning information of the vehicle from a controller of vehicle while the vehicle is moving;
generating a three-dimensional map of an environment surrounding the vehicle based on the radar data received from each radar system, the speed information, and the positioning information, the three-dimensional map including objects;
generating a second three-dimensional map, of a static environment surrounding the vehicle, by identifying and removing dynamic objects from the objects included in the map.

10. The method of claim 9 , processing the radar data to generate 3D point clouds or radar images.

11. The method of claim 9 , wherein the vehicle includes a body having a front which faces in-line with the direction of travel and two lateral sides to the front side, wherein at least one of the at least one radar system is mountable to one of the lateral sides.

12. The method of claim 9 , wherein emitting comprises emitting the radio waves only emit sideward to the direction of travel.

13. The method of claim 9 , wherein emitting comprises directing the radio waves to scan in a 2D vertical plane.

14. The method of claim 9 , further comprising processing the radar data by applying synthetic aperture radar (SAR) techniques to produce 3D images.

15. A radar sensing system for a ground-based vehicle, the vehicle including a body having a front, a back and two lateral sides, the sensing system comprising:
at least one radar system mountable to one of the lateral sides of the body of the ground-based vehicle, each radar system configured to emit radio waves at a fixed sideward azimuth angle to an axis extending between the front and the back of the vehicle, capture electromagnetic radiation, and generate radar data based on the captured electromagnetic radiation while the vehicle is moving;
memory;
a processor operably coupled to each radar system and the memory, the processor configured to execute computer instructions stored on the memory, the computer instructions causing the processor to:
receive speed information and positioning information of the vehicle from a controller of vehicle while the vehicle is moving;
process the radar data received from each radar system, the speed information, and the positioning information to determine an environment surrounding the vehicle and identify static and dynamic objects around the vehicle;
generate a three-dimensional map of an environment surrounding the vehicle based on the determined environment and the identified static objects.

16. The radar sensing system of claim 15 , wherein the processor is further configured to execute computer instructions stored on the memory to cause the processor to process the radar data to generate 3D point clouds or radar images and wherein the map is generated based on the 3D point clouds or radar images.

17. The sensing system of claim 15 , wherein the vehicle further includes a shell, wherein at least one of the at least one radar system is mountable interior of the shell.

18. The sensing system of claim 15 , wherein the processor is further configured to execute computer instructions stored on the memory to cause the processor to control the radar system to emit radio waves only sideward to the direction of travel.

19. The sensing system of claim 15 , wherein the processor is further configured to execute computer instructions stored on the memory to cause the processor to control the radar system to vertically scan in a 2D vertical plane.

20. The sensing system of claim 15 , wherein the vehicle is an autonomous vehicle.

21. The sensing system of claim 15 , wherein the processor is further configured to execute computer instructions stored on the memory to cause the processor to process the radar data by applying synthetic aperture radar (SAR) techniques to produce 3D images.

Assignees

• Rohani Mohsen
• Zhang Song
• Huawei Tech Co Ltd

Inventors

• Rohani Mohsen
• Zhang Song

Classifications

• G01S2013/93274

  on the side of the vehicles · CPC title

• G01S7/415

  Identification of targets based on measurements of movement associated with the target · CPC title

• G01S13/89

  for mapping or imaging · CPC title

• G01S13/426

  Scanning radar, e.g. 3D radar (G01S13/66 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G01S7/024

  using polarisation effects (in waveguides H01P1/165; for aerials H01Q, e.g. H01Q15/22, H01Q15/24, H01Q19/195) · CPC title