Method and Device for Surroundings Detection

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This patent describes a radar system for environment sensing, especially suited for moving objects such as vehicles or cranes. The system uses at least two spatially distributed, non-coherent radar modules mounted on the object. These modules independently transmit and receive signals, which are then processed by an evaluation unit to create modified, mutually coherent measurement signals. This coherence is achieved via post-processing algorithms that compensate for phase noise and synchronization issues, enabling the entire system to act as if all modules originated from the same source, thus improving radar measurement accuracy and resolution.

Use CasesContent extracted from patent full text and abstract with AI.

• Advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) for vehicles, including collision avoidance, lane keeping, and adaptive cruise control.
• Autonomous vehicle navigation and environment mapping for cars, drones, and delivery robots.
• Enhanced crane and industrial transport monitoring for collision avoidance and precise maneuvering in construction sites or warehouses.
• Railway safety systems for obstacle and environment detection.
• Security surveillance for perimeter monitoring using distributed radar sensors.
• High-precision height and object-profile measurement, especially important for automatic parking and mapping road obstacles.

BenefitsContent extracted from patent full text and abstract with AI.

• Significantly improves lateral (angle) resolution and accuracy in radar-based environment sensing without the need for physically large and complex antenna arrays.
• Reduces complexity and cost by allowing the use of multiple distributed, smaller radar modules synchronized via software/post-processing rather than expensive, phase-locked hardware.
• Increases robustness and reliability of measurements by compensating for phase noise, drifts, and synchronization errors between modules in software.
• Supports flexible sensor placement and adaptation to different vehicle types or industrial machines, as radar modules can be mounted at various positions and heights.
• Enables multi-dimensional measurements, including separation and precise estimation of distance, speed (including lateral velocity), and object height, crucial for advanced automation.
• Facilitates high-resolution imaging and target differentiation through the use of techniques like synthetic aperture radar (SAR), holography, and state-of-the-art signal processing algorithms.

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Inventors & Applicants

Patent Abstract

The invention relates to a radar system for capturing surroundings of a moving object, in particular a vehicle and/or a transportation apparatus, such as a crane, in particular, wherein the system is mounted or mountable on the moving object, wherein the radar system comprises at least two non-coherent radar modules (RM 1, RM 2, …, RM N) having at least one transmitter antenna and at least one receiver antenna, wherein the radar modules (RM 1, RM 2, …, RM N) are arranged or arrangeable in distributed fashion on the moving object, wherein provision is made of at least one evaluation device which is configured to process transmitted and received signals of the radar modules to form modified measurement signals in such a way that the modified measurement signals are coherent in relation to one another.