Magna Electronics Inc.

Holger Hess

Sebastian Pliefke

Jagmal Singh

Sergio Duque Biarge

Jorge J Jácome Muñoz

Kalin Kabakchiev

Roaldje Nadjiasngar

Walter Gordon Woodington

Wilhelm Johann Wolfgang Wöhlte

Joern Ihlenburg

Helmut A Wodrich

Helmut Arnold Hardow Wodrich

Suresh Boddi

Danny A Schram

A vehicular radar sensing system includes a radar sensor that includes (i) at least one transmitter that transmits radio signals, and (ii) at least one receiver that receive radio signals. The radar sensor includes a waveguide antenna and a printed circuit board (PCB) with a transmitter pad and a receiver pad. The transmitter transmits radio signals to the transmitter pad, and the receiver receives radio signals from the receiver pad. The PCB includes a ground plane layer and a plurality of conductive elements that at least partially surrounds at least the transmitter pad. The plurality of conductive elements electrically connects the waveguide antenna to the ground plane layer and attaches the PCB to the waveguide antenna. The waveguide antenna (i) guides the transmitted radio signals from the transmitter pad to the exterior environment and (ii) guides reflected radio signals from the exterior environment to the receiver pad.

Vehicular radar sensor with cross channel isolation

A method includes disposing a spherical radar reflector at a location exterior a vehicle equipped with the vehicular sensing system. The vehicular sensing system includes at least two radar sensors disposed at the vehicle and a controller that processes received radio frequency (RF) signals received by the plurality of receivers of each radar sensor of the at least two radar sensors. Calibration RF signals are transmitted by at least one transmitting antenna of a plurality of transmitters of a first radar sensor and a second radar sensor the at least two radar sensors, and reflected first calibration RF signals are received by the plurality of receivers of the first radar sensor and the second radar sensor. Based on a distance between the first radar sensor, the second radar sensor, and the spherical reflector, the vehicular sensing system determines an orientation of the first radar sensor and the second radar sensor.

Vehicular radar system with automatic sensor alignment

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.

Vehicle radar sensing system with enhanced angle resolution

A vehicular radar sensing system includes a radar sensor disposed at a vehicle. The radar sensor includes a waveguide antenna and a printed circuit board (PCB) with an inboard side and an outboard side. A processor is disposed at the inboard side of the PCB and the waveguide antenna is disposed at the outboard side of the PCB. The waveguide antenna is partially disposed within a cavity at the outboard side of the PCB. Radio frequency signals are electrically communicated between the processor and the waveguide antenna through only a portion of the PCB. The waveguide antenna (i) guides the transmitted radio signals from the transmitter to the exterior environment and (ii) guides reflected radio signals from the exterior environment to the receiver.

Vehicular radar sensor with waveguide connection embedded in PCB

A vehicular radar sensing system includes at least one radar sensor having a plurality of transmitting antennas and a plurality of receiving antennas. Individual transmitting antennas are arranged in multiple rows, and individual receiving antennas are arranged in multiple columns. The multiple rows of transmitting antennas include first and second rows of transmitting antennas, each row having at least four transmitting antennas. Each column of the multiple columns of receiving antennas comprises at least four receiving antennas. The multiple columns of receiving antennas are disposed between the first row of transmitting antennas and the second row of transmitting antennas. The vehicular radar sensing system applies two dimensional multiple input multiple output processing to outputs of the receiving antennas. The vehicular radar sensing system, responsive to processing of outputs of the receiving antennas, detects objects present in a field of sensing of the at least one radar sensor.

2D MIMO vehicular radar sensing system

A vehicular sensing system includes at least one MIMO radar sensor disposed at the vehicle and sensing exterior and forward of the vehicle. The at least one MIMO radar sensor includes multiple transmitting antennas and multiple receiving antennas. The transmitting antennas transmit radar signals and the receiving antennas receive radar signals. Radar data captured by the at least one MIMO radar sensor is provided to an electronic control unit (ECU). The ECU includes a processor and, responsive at least in part to processing at the ECU of provided captured radar data and vehicle motion information, determines different types of surfaces sensed by the at least one MIMO radar sensor. Responsive at least in part to processing at the ECU of provided captured radar data, the vehicular sensing system provides an output for at least one driving assist system.

Vehicle radar sensing system

A vehicular radar sensing system includes a radar sensor disposed at a vehicle so as to sense exterior of the vehicle and having at least one transmitter that transmits radio signals and at least one receiver that receives radio signals. The radar sensor includes a transmitting wave guide antenna and a receiving wave guide antenna, a PCB, and a processor operable to process radio signals transmitted by the at least one transmitter and received by the at least one receiver. Each of the wave guide elements includes a respective wave guide slot disposed at the inboard side of the PCB, and another respective wave guide slot that guides the radio signals to or from the environment, and a respective air wave guide that guides the radio signals between the respective wave guide slots.

Vehicle radar system with enhanced wave guide antenna system

A method for determining presence of an object via a vehicular radar sensing system includes providing a radar sensor having a plurality of antennas, which includes a plurality of transmitting antennas and a plurality of receiving antennas. The plurality of antennas includes a plurality of sets of antennas, each set having a V shape or an X shape, and with each of the shaped sets of antennas having an apex. A signal feed is provided to the apex of each of the shaped sets of antennas. A radar beam is transmitted via the plurality of transmitting antennas and side lobes of the transmitted radar beam are reduced via the plurality of shaped sets of antennas. An output of the receiving antennas is communicated to a processor, and the processor determines presence of one or more objects exterior the vehicle and within the field of sensing of the radar sensor.

Method for determining presence of an object via a vehicular radar system with shaped antennas

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 transmitting antennas transmit signals and the receiving antennas receive the signals reflected off objects. Multiple scans of radar data are received at an electronic control unit (ECU) and processed at a processor of the ECU. The ECU detects presence of a plurality of objects exterior the equipped vehicle and within the field of sensing of the at least one radar sensor. The ECU, responsive at least in part to processing at the processor of the received multiple scans of captured radar data and received vehicle motion estimation, tracks objects detected in the received multiple scans over two or more scans.

A method of calibrating a vehicular vision system includes mounting a camera at a vehicle moving along a vehicle assembly line. Responsive to processing of image data captured by the camera, ground features adjacent to the vehicle are determined and the determined ground features are tracked over two or more frames of captured image data using optical flow. A misalignment of the camera is determined via tracking the determined ground features as the vehicle moves along the straight path portion of the end of line test portion of the vehicle assembly line. Responsive to determination of misalignment of the camera at the vehicle, the vehicular vision system is calibrated using an assumption that the determined ground features lie in a plane parallel to a planar portion of a ground surface adjacent the straight path portion of the end of line test portion of the vehicle assembly line.

System and method for calibrating vehicular vision system

A radar sensing system for a vehicle includes a radar sensor having a plurality of transmitting antennas and a plurality of receiving antennas. The transmitting antennas and the receiving antennas are arranged in multiple rows and columns of transmitting antennas and multiple rows and columns of receiving antennas. A control controls radar transmission by the transmitting antennas and receives outputs from the receiving antennas. The control applies two dimensional multiple input multiple output processing to outputs of the receiving antennas. With two dimensional multiple input multiple output processing applied to outputs of the receiving antennas, the transmitting antennas and the receiving antennas achieve an enhanced two dimensional virtual aperture.

2D MIMO radar system for vehicle

A vehicular radar sensing system includes a radar sensor disposed at a vehicle so as to sense exterior of the vehicle and having at least one transmitter that transmits radio signals and at least one receiver that receive radio signals. The radar sensor includes at least one wave guide antenna, a PCB, and a processor disposed on an inboard side of the PCB and operable to process radio signals received by the at least one receiver. The wave guide antenna includes a first wave guide slot disposed at the inboard side of the PCB that guides the radio signals to the at least one receiver or from the at least one transmitter, a second wave guide slot that guides the radio signals to and from the environment, and an air wave guide that guides the radio signals between the first wave guide slot and the second wave guide slot.

A method for calibrating a vehicular sensing system includes disposing the sensing system at a vehicle, with the sensing system including at least two radar sensors disposed at the vehicle so as to have respective fields of sensing exterior of the vehicle. At least one spherical radar reflector is disposed at a position exterior the vehicle where the fields of sensing of the at least two radar sensors overlap. A calibration mode of the sensing system is entered, and calibration radio waves are transmitted by at least one transmitter, and reflected calibration radio waves are received by receivers of the at least two radar sensors. The reflected calibration radio waves include the calibration radio waves reflected off the at least one spherical radar reflector. A controller calibrates the sensing system responsive to processing the received reflected calibration radio waves.

A sensing system for a vehicle includes at least one radar sensor disposed at the vehicle and having a field of sensing exterior of the vehicle. The at least one radar sensor includes multiple transmitting antennas and multiple receiving antennas. The transmitting antennas transmit signals and the receiving antennas receive the signals reflected off objects. Radar data sensed by the at least one radar sensor is received at a control, and a vehicle motion estimation is received at the control and processed at a processor of the control. The control, responsive at least in part to processing at the processor of the received sensed radar data and the received vehicle motion estimation, determines different types of surfaces in the field of sensing of the at least one radar sensor.

Vehicle radar sensing system with surface segmentation using interferometric statistical analysis

A sensing system for a vehicle includes at least one radar sensor disposed at the vehicle and having a field of sensing exterior of the vehicle. The at least one radar sensor includes multiple transmitting antennas and multiple receiving antennas. The transmitting antennas transmit signals and the receiving antennas receive the signals reflected off objects. Multiple scans of radar data sensed by the at least one radar sensor are received at a control, and a vehicle motion estimation is received at the control. The control, responsive to received scans of sensed radar data, detects the presence of one or more objects exterior the vehicle and within the field of sensing of the at least one radar sensor. The control, responsive to the received scans of sensed radar data and the received vehicle motion estimation, matches objects detected in the scans and determines angles toward the detected objects.

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Aschaffenburg, Germany

Holger Hess