Dynamic range setting for vehicular radars

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10509121-B2
Application number	US-201715451206-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 6, 2017
Priority date	Mar 4, 2016
Publication date	Dec 17, 2019
Grant date	Dec 17, 2019

Abstract

A vehicle control system includes a set of radars, with each radar of the set including a depth setting which controls a corresponding range of the radar. The corresponding range of at least one radar may be adjusted based on contextual information, as determined by the vehicle when the vehicle is in use.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for operating an autonomous vehicle, the method comprising:
operating, by a computing system comprising one or more computing devices, a set of radars on the autonomous vehicle, each radar in the set of radars including a depth setting which controls a corresponding range of the radar from the autonomous vehicle;
determining, by the computing system, contextual information about a trip of the autonomous vehicle as the autonomous vehicle progresses over a first road segment, the contextual information comprising information about a second road segment that intersects the first road segment and that the autonomous vehicle is approaching, the information identifying a type of the second road segment and identifying a likely point of ingress of an object into a path of the autonomous vehicle from the second road segment; and
adjusting, by the computing system, the corresponding range of at least one radar in the set of radars based on the contextual information to detect a location of the object relative to the autonomous vehicle.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
making a selection of the at least one radar based on the contextual information.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one radar is moved over an angular range that includes multiple viewing orientations, and wherein adjusting the corresponding range of at least one radar includes selecting a viewing orientation from the multiple viewing orientations, and selecting the range of the radar at the selected viewing orientation.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein adjusting the corresponding range includes determining a duration in which the selected radar is actively signaling and monitoring when in the selected viewing orientation.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the information about the second road segment includes information that identifies at least one of a traffic light, road signage, or a cross walk.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the information about the second road segment includes information that identifies a set of static objects which surround the second road segment.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the contextual information includes one or more of a time of day, a day of week or calendar day, or an amount of traffic.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
autonomously controlling the autonomous vehicle based on information received from the set of radars.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein adjusting the corresponding range includes selecting any one of the radars in the set for adjustment in range.

10. A control system for an autonomous vehicle, comprising:
a set of processors;
memory to store instructions;
a plurality of interfaces for sensors of the autonomous vehicle, the plurality of interfaces including a set of radar interfaces;
wherein the set of processors execute instructions that include:
determine contextual information about a trip of the autonomous vehicle as the autonomous vehicle progresses over a first road segment, the contextual information comprising information about a second road segment that intersects the first road segment and that the autonomous vehicle is approaching, the information identifying a type of the second road segment and identifying a likely point of ingress of an object into a path of the autonomous vehicle from the second road segment; and
adjust the corresponding range of at least one radar in the set of radars based on the contextual information including the information identifying the type of the second road segment to detect a location of the object relative to the autonomous vehicle.

11. The control system of claim 10 , wherein the memory stores a map that identifies road segments, including the second road segment, and wherein the one or more processors determine the contextual information using the map.

12. The control system of claim 11 , wherein the one or more processors identify, from the map, a set of static objects, and wherein contextual information includes information determined from the set of static objects.

13. An autonomous vehicle comprising:
a control system;
a set of radars;
a memory to store instructions and a map;
one or more processors which execute the instructions to:
access the map;
determine contextual information from the map, the contextual information comprising information comprising information about a second road segment that intersects a first road segment on which the autonomous vehicle is traveling, the contextual information identifying a type of the second road segment and identifying a likely point of ingress of an object into a path of the autonomous vehicle from the second road segment; and
adjust a range of each radar in the set of radars based on the determined contextual information including the information identifying the type of the second road segment to detect a location of the object relative to the autonomous vehicle.

14. The autonomous vehicle of claim 13 , wherein the one or more processors make a selection of the at least one radar based on the contextual information.

15. The autonomous vehicle of claim 13 , wherein the at least one radar is moved over an angular range that includes multiple viewing orientations, and wherein the one or more processors adjust the corresponding range of at least one radar by selecting a viewing orientation from the multiple viewing orientations, and by selecting the range of the radar at the selected viewing orientation.

16. The autonomous vehicle of claim 15 , wherein the one or more processors adjust the corresponding range by determining a duration in which the selected radar is actively signaling and monitoring when in the selected viewing orientation.

17. The autonomous vehicle of claim 13 , wherein the contextual information includes one or more of a time of day, a day of week or calendar day, or an amount of traffic.

18. The autonomous vehicle of claim 13 , wherein the information identifying the type of the second road segment comprises information identifying the second road segment as at least one of a merge lane, an intersection, a crosswalk, or a hidden driveway.

19. The method of claim 1 , wherein the information identifying the type of the second road segment comprises information identifying the second road segment as at least one of a merge lane, an intersection, a crosswalk, or a hidden driveway.

Assignees

• Uatc Llc

Inventors

• Smith Warren

Classifications

• G01S2013/9322

  using additional data, e.g. driver condition, road state or weather data · CPC title

• G01S2013/932

  using own vehicle data, e.g. ground speed, steering wheel direction · CPC title

• G01S2013/93274

  on the side of the vehicles · CPC title

• G01S2013/93272

  in the back of the vehicles · CPC title

• G01S2013/93271

  in the front of the vehicles · CPC title