KR102818079B1 - Radar control apparatus and method - Google Patents

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a radar control device and method. Specifically, the radar control device according to the present disclosure includes a receiving unit which receives forward driving information about the surroundings of a self-vehicle from a radar, a calculating unit which calculates a first velocity ratio based on a relative velocity between the self-vehicle and the forward vehicle and a vertical angle of the radar with respect to the forward vehicle when an object other than the forward vehicle is detected in the forward driving information, and a second velocity ratio based on the relative velocity between the object and the self-vehicle and the vertical angle of the radar with respect to the object, and a determining unit which determines whether the vertical angle of the radar is misaligned based on the first velocity ratio and the second velocity ratio.

Description

{RADAR CONTROL APPARATUS AND METHOD}

The present embodiments relate to a radar control device and method for determining whether the vertical angle of the radar is misaligned.

Recently, the number of vehicles equipped with radar has been increasing. Based on the information output from the radar mounted on the vehicle, the electronic control unit of the vehicle can calculate the distance, relative speed, and angle between the vehicle and objects around the vehicle.

Vehicles equipped with radar in this way can provide various safety and convenience functions by using the distance, relative speed, and angle between the vehicle and surrounding objects.

For example, collision avoidance functions while parked, smart cruise functions while driving, or automatic parking functions can be implemented by using information input from a radar mounted on the vehicle to determine the distance, angle, or relative speed between the vehicle and objects around the vehicle.

As radars mounted on vehicles play an important role in performing various functions, the reliability of information input from radars is also important. However, since radars are mounted on vehicles, they are subject to various impacts due to driving or other causes, and as a result, there is a possibility that the radars may move away from their original mounting location.

In this way, if the radar deviates from its proper mounting location, the reliability of the information output from the radar decreases, and the reliability of various functions provided by the vehicle also decreases.

Against this backdrop, the present disclosure seeks to provide a radar control device and method for determining whether the vertical angle of the radar is misaligned by calculating a speed ratio for an object and a front vehicle.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, in one aspect, the present disclosure provides a radar control device including a receiving unit that receives forward driving information about the surroundings of a self-vehicle from a radar, a calculating unit that calculates a first velocity ratio based on a relative velocity between the self-vehicle and the forward vehicle and a vertical angle of the radar with respect to the forward vehicle when an object other than the forward vehicle is detected in the forward driving information, and a second velocity ratio based on the relative velocity between the object and the self-vehicle and the vertical angle of the radar with respect to the object, and a determining unit that determines whether the vertical angle of the radar is misaligned based on the first velocity ratio and the second velocity ratio.

In another aspect, the present disclosure provides a radar control method including a forward driving information receiving step of receiving forward driving information about the surroundings of a self-vehicle from a radar, a speed ratio calculating step of calculating a first velocity ratio based on a relative velocity between the self-vehicle and the forward vehicle and a vertical angle of the radar with respect to the forward vehicle when an object other than the forward vehicle is detected in the forward driving information, and a second velocity ratio based on the relative velocity between the object and the self-vehicle and the vertical angle of the radar with respect to the object, and a vertical angle determining step of determining whether the vertical angle of the radar is misaligned based on the first velocity ratio and the second velocity ratio.

According to the present disclosure, the radar control device and method can improve the reliability of radar detection information and realize safer driving by comparing the speed ratio of a front vehicle with the speed ratio of objects detected in the surroundings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a radar control device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.
FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining calculating a time ratio to determine whether the vertical angle of the radar is misaligned according to one embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a drawing for explaining how the speed ratio changes according to the vertical angle of the radar according to one embodiment.
FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining determining whether the vertical angle of the radar is misaligned based on an object detected within a preset vertical angle according to one embodiment.
FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining calculating a second speed ratio of an object detected within a preset vertical angle range according to one embodiment.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a radar control method according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.
FIG. 7 is a drawing to more specifically explain step S620 according to one embodiment.

Hereinafter, some embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the exemplary drawings. Hereinafter, some embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the exemplary drawings. When adding reference numerals to components in each drawing, the same components may have the same numerals as much as possible even if they are shown in different drawings. In addition, when describing the present embodiments, if it is determined that a specific description of a related known configuration or function may obscure the gist of the technical idea of the present invention, the detailed description thereof may be omitted. When “includes,” “has,” “consists of,” etc. are used in this specification, other parts may be added unless “only” is used. When a component is expressed in the singular, it may include a case where the plural is included unless there is a special explicit description.

Additionally, in describing components of the present disclosure, terms such as first, second, A, B, (a), (b), etc. may be used. These terms are only intended to distinguish the components from other components, and the nature, order, sequence, or number of the components are not limited by the terms.

In a description of the positional relationship of components, when it is described that two or more components are "connected", "coupled" or "connected", it should be understood that the two or more components may be directly "connected", "coupled" or "connected", but the two or more components and another component may be further "interposed" to be "connected", "coupled" or "connected". Here, the other component may be included in one or more of the two or more components that are "connected", "coupled" or "connected" to each other.

In the description of the temporal flow relationship related to components, operation methods, or manufacturing methods, for example, when the temporal chronological relationship or the chronological flow relationship is described as "after", "following", "next to", or "before", it can also include cases where it is not continuous, as long as "immediately" or "directly" is not used.

Meanwhile, when a numerical value or its corresponding information (e.g., level, etc.) for a component is mentioned, even if there is no separate explicit description, the numerical value or its corresponding information may be interpreted as including an error range that may occur due to various factors (e.g., process factors, internal or external impact, noise, etc.).

Hereinafter, a radar control device (10) according to one embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the attached drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram for explaining a radar control device (10) according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

A radar control device (10) according to one embodiment of the present disclosure may include a receiving unit (110), a calculating unit (120), and a determining unit (130).

A radar control device (10) according to one embodiment of the present disclosure may be an ADAS (Advance Driver Assistance Systems) that is mounted on a vehicle (20) to provide information to assist in driving the vehicle (20) or to assist a driver in controlling the vehicle (20).

Here, ADAS may refer to various types of advanced driver assistance systems, and driver assistance systems may include, for example, an Autonomous Emergency Braking System, a Smart Parking Assistance System (SPAS), a Blind Spot Detection (BSD) system, an Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) system, a Lane Departure Warning System (LDWS), a Lane Keeping Assist System (LKAS), a Lane Change Assist System (LCAS), etc. However, it is not limited thereto.

The laser control device is mounted on the vehicle (20) and can detect a vehicle ahead (35) and an object (30) such as a traffic light in front of the vehicle (20). When it is determined that both the vehicle ahead (35) and the object (30) are stopped, the device can determine whether the vertical angle of the radar is misaligned using the speed ratio of each of the vehicle ahead (35) and the object (30).

Here, the self-vehicle (20) may mean a vehicle equipped with a motor and made to move on the ground without relying on a railroad or installed line by turning the wheels with the motive power thereof. In addition, the self-vehicle (20) may be an electric vehicle that uses electricity as a power source and obtains driving energy by rotating a motor with electricity accumulated in a battery rather than obtaining driving energy from the combustion of fossil fuels.

The radar control device (10) can be applied to manned vehicles and autonomous vehicles in which a driver rides and controls the vehicle (20).

The receiving unit (110) can receive forward driving information about the surroundings of the vehicle (20) from the radar.

Here, the radar may include an antenna unit, a radar transmitter unit, and a radar receiver unit.

The antenna section includes one or more transmitting antennas and one or more receiving antennas, and each transmitting and receiving antenna may be, but is not limited to, an array antenna in which one or more radiating elements are connected in series by a feed line.

These antenna sections include a plurality of transmitting antennas and a plurality of receiving antennas, and may have various types of antenna array structures depending on the arrangement order and arrangement intervals, etc.

The radar transmitter can have a function of transmitting a transmission signal through a switched transmission antenna by switching to one of a plurality of transmission antennas included in the antenna unit or transmitting a transmission signal through a multi-transmission channel assigned to a plurality of transmission antennas.

The radar transmitter includes an oscillator that generates a transmission signal for one transmission channel assigned to a switched transmission antenna or for multiple transmission channels assigned to multiple transmission antennas. The oscillator may include, for example, a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) and an oscillator.

The radar receiver can receive a reception signal reflected from an object (30) through a reception antenna.

In addition, the radar receiver can have a function of receiving a reception signal that is a reflection signal reflected by a target from a transmission signal transmitted through the switched reception antenna by switching to one of a plurality of reception antennas, or receiving a reception signal through a multi-reception channel assigned to a plurality of reception antennas.

The radar receiver may include a low noise amplifier (LNA) for low-noise amplifying a reception signal received through one reception channel assigned to a switched reception antenna or through T reception channels assigned to a plurality of transmission antennas, a mixing unit (Mixer) for mixing the low-noise amplified reception signal, an amplifier for amplifying the mixed reception signal, and a converter (ADC: Analog Digital Converter) for digitally converting the amplified reception signal to generate reception data.

The forward driving information received from the aforementioned receiver (110) may be a radar reception signal or digitally converted reception data.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining calculating a time ratio to determine whether the vertical angle of the radar is misaligned according to one embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 2, when an object (30) other than a front vehicle (35) is detected in the forward driving information, the calculating unit (120) can calculate a first velocity ratio based on the relative velocity of the front vehicle (35) and the self-vehicle (20) and the vertical angle of the radar with respect to the front vehicle (35), and can calculate a second velocity ratio based on the relative velocity of the object (30) and the self-vehicle (20) and the vertical angle of the radar with respect to the object (30).

Since functions such as autonomous driving and ADAS are implemented based on sensor data mounted on the vehicle (20), the detection accuracy of each sensor may be important. For example, if the radar does not properly detect the surroundings, the SCC (Smart Cruise Control) that follows the vehicle in front (35) and the AEB (Auto Emergency Break) function that detects an object in front (30) may be disrupted, which may cause problems in implementing the relevant functions. Therefore, it is important to maintain high accuracy for sensors such as radar, and for example, whether the radar angle is misaligned may be an example of this.

If the radar is tilted vertically, it can have a significant effect on whether or not an object (30) located in front is detected. In particular, in the case of a vehicle with AEB applied, if an object (30) located in front is not detected, a major accident can occur.

To prevent this, the radar control device (10) of the present disclosure detects an object (30-1) located above or below the vehicle (20), and calculates a speed ratio for each object (30-1, 30-2), thereby determining whether the radar is vertically misaligned.

Referring to FIG. 2, the generating unit (120) can determine whether an object (30) other than a front vehicle (35) is detected from the forward driving information received from the receiving unit (110). If an object (30) is detected, a speed ratio for each is calculated, and by comparing the first speed ratio and the second speed ratio calculated from the front vehicle (35) and the object (30), it is possible to determine whether the vertical sensor of the radar is misaligned.

Here, the speed ratio can be obtained by calculating the relative speed and vertical angle between the self-vehicle (20) and the object (30). And, the relative speed and speed ratio can be calculated by the following equations 1 and 2.

[Formula 1]

Here, V may be the speed of the vehicle (20), and θ may be the vertical angle of the object (30) detected by the radar.

[Formula 2]

According to the above formula, the speed ratio can be affected by the relative speed and vertical angle, and in the ideal case, the speed ratio of the front vehicle (35) can be calculated as 1 in a state where there is no vertical distortion.

FIG. 3 is a drawing for explaining how the speed ratio changes according to the vertical angle of the radar according to one embodiment.

Referring to Fig. 3, the speed ratio can be shifted left or right depending on the vertical angle value of the radar. For example, a in Fig. 3 can be a point of 0 degrees on the radar because the speed ratio is calculated as 1 at a vertical angle of -7 degrees. In other words, the actual radar is turned to -7 degrees, but the radar can recognize -7 degrees as 0 degrees. Similarly, b in Fig. 3 can be a point of 0 degrees on the radar because the speed ratio is calculated as 1 at a vertical angle of 5 degrees.

FIG. 4 is a drawing for explaining whether the vertical angle of the radar is misaligned based on an object (30) detected within a preset vertical angle according to one embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 4, the output unit (120) can calculate the first speed ratio and the second speed ratio when the object (30) is detected within a preset vertical angle.

Specifically, the output unit (120) can detect surrounding objects (30) at various vertical angles depending on the type of radar, but by limiting the range to a preset vertical angle, it is possible to determine whether the vertical angle of the radar is misaligned at a faster processing speed.

As shown in Fig. 4, a preset vertical angle range can be set as an area of interest, and a second speed ratio can be calculated based on an object (30) detected within the range.

In addition, as an example, when interpreting the speed ratio of the object (30) and the front vehicle (35) as in FIG. 4, the speed ratio of the object (30) is calculated as 1 and that of the front vehicle (35) is calculated as less than 1, so the radar can recognize the direction of the object (30) as 0 degrees. If there was no vertical misalignment, the front vehicle (35) is driving in the same direction and at the same angle as the self-vehicle (20), so the speed ratio for the front vehicle (35) should be calculated to be close to 1. However, as described above, since the speed ratio is calculated to be lower than that of the object (30), the control unit can determine that vertical misalignment of the radar has occurred.

FIG. 5 is a drawing for explaining calculating a second speed ratio of an object (30) detected within a preset vertical angle range according to one embodiment.

The output unit (120) can calculate a speed ratio for each object (30) when multiple objects (30) are detected within a predetermined vertical angle, and calculate the highest speed ratio as the second speed ratio.

Specifically, the calculation unit (120) can calculate a speed ratio for each object (30) detected within a predetermined vertical angle. And, among the calculated plurality of speed ratios, the object (30) having the largest speed ratio may have a vertical angle most similar to the actual vertical angle of the equipped radar. In this way, the largest speed ratio is calculated as a second speed ratio and compared with the first speed ratio for the front vehicle (35) to determine whether the vertical angle of the radar is misaligned.

As mentioned above, in normal cases, the first speed ratio should be 1 or close to 1, so if the second speed ratio is higher than the first speed ratio, the control unit can determine that the vertical angle of the radar is misaligned.

Referring to FIG. 5, for example, the calculation unit (120) detects a plurality of objects (30) within a predetermined vertical angle a, and calculates the highest speed ratio among the speed ratios calculated from the plurality of objects (30) as a second speed ratio. In FIG. 5, the object (30) b having a vertical angle corresponding to the second speed ratio may be used. In addition, when the speed ratio for the object (30) b is 1, the vertical deviation angle of the radar may be the angle between the object (30) b, the self-vehicle (20), and the front vehicle (35).

In one embodiment, the calculation unit (120) can calculate a speed ratio for each of a plurality of objects (30) detected for a predetermined time, and calculate the highest speed ratio among the speed ratios for the plurality of objects (30) as a second speed ratio. The calculation unit (120) can find the highest speed ratio by setting the time to a longer range as well as the range. In addition, by calculating the speed ratio at an angle where the object (30) was not detected at a specific vertical angle while the self-vehicle (20) was driving, but was not detected by setting a predetermined time, it is possible to determine more accurately whether the vertical angle of the radar is misaligned.

The calculation unit (120) can calculate the first speed ratio and the second speed ratio when the object (30) and the front vehicle are stopped. As in the above-described equations 1 and 2, in order to calculate the relative speed and the speed ratio, the speed of the own vehicle (20) must be calculated. The speed of the own vehicle (20) can be calculated based on the surrounding stationary objects (30), but in order to calculate a more accurate speed, the speed ratio can be calculated when the front vehicle (35) and the object (30) are stopped.

Such radar control device (10) can be implemented as an electronic control unit (ECU), microcomputer, etc.

In one embodiment, a computer system (not shown), such as a radar control device (10), may be implemented as an electronic control unit (ECU). The electronic control unit may include at least one of one or more processors, a memory, a storage, a user interface input, and a user interface output, which may communicate with each other via a bus. In addition, the computer system may also include a network interface for connecting to a network. The processor may be a CPU or a semiconductor device that executes processing instructions stored in the memory and/or storage. The memory and storage may include various types of volatile/nonvolatile storage media. For example, the memory may include ROM and RAM.

Below, a radar control method using a radar control device (10) capable of performing all of the above-described present disclosures will be described.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a radar control method according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 6, the radar control method according to the present disclosure may include a forward driving information receiving step (S610) of receiving forward driving information about the surroundings of a self-vehicle (20) from a radar, a speed ratio calculating step (S620) of calculating a first speed ratio based on the relative speed of the self-vehicle (20) and the front vehicle (35) and the vertical angle of the radar with respect to the front vehicle (35) when an object (30) other than the front vehicle (35) is detected in the forward driving information, and a second speed ratio based on the relative speed of the object (30) and the self-vehicle (20) and the vertical angle of the radar with respect to the object (30), and a vertical angle determining step (S630) of determining whether the vertical angle of the radar is misaligned based on the first speed ratio and the second speed ratio.

The vertical angle judgment step (S630) can determine that the vertical angle of the radar is misaligned when the second speed ratio is greater than the first speed ratio.

FIG. 7 is a drawing to more specifically explain step S620 according to one embodiment.

Referring to Fig. 7, the radar control device (10) can determine whether the self-vehicle (20) is moving (S710). In order to calculate the speed ratio of the object (30) detected by the radar, the speed of the self-vehicle (20) is required. However, if the self-vehicle (20) is not moving, the speed is not calculated, and thus the speed ratio of the detected object (30) cannot be calculated.

If the vehicle (20) is moving (Yes of S710), the radar control device (10) can determine whether an object (30) exists within a predetermined vertical angle (S720). Ideally, it is possible to determine whether the radar is misaligned with respect to the vertical angle simply by detecting the vehicle in front (35). However, since the radar signal is inaccurate (for example, in an area with frequent reflections such as a tunnel) and cannot fully reflect the road conditions, an object (30) to be compared with the vehicle in front (35) may be required.

If an object (30) exists within a predetermined vertical angle (Yes in S720), the radar control device (10) can determine whether the object (30) and the front vehicle (35) are stationary (S730). As described above, the radar control device (10) can calculate the speed of the self-vehicle (20) based on the stationary objects (30) in the vicinity, but can determine whether the object (30) and the front vehicle (35) are stationary in order to calculate a more accurate speed.

When the object (30) and the front vehicle (35) are stationary (Yes of S730), the radar control device (10) can calculate the first speed ratio and the second speed ratio for the front vehicle (35) and the object (30), respectively (S740).

In one embodiment, the speed ratio calculation step (S620) may calculate a speed ratio for each object (30) when multiple objects (30) are detected within a predetermined vertical angle, and calculate the highest speed ratio as the second speed ratio.

In another embodiment, the speed ratio calculation step (S620) may calculate a speed ratio for each of a plurality of objects (30) detected over a predetermined period of time, and calculate a speed ratio with the highest speed ratio among the plurality of objects (30) as a second speed ratio.

As described above, according to the present disclosure, the radar control device and method can improve the reliability of radar detection information and realize safer driving by comparing the speed ratio of a front vehicle with the speed ratio of objects detected in the vicinity.

The above description is merely an example of the technical idea of the present disclosure, and those skilled in the art to which the present disclosure pertains may make various modifications and variations without departing from the essential characteristics of the technical idea of the present disclosure. In addition, the present embodiments are not intended to limit the technical idea of the present disclosure but to explain it, and therefore the scope of the technical idea of the present disclosure is not limited by these embodiments. The protection scope of the present disclosure should be interpreted by the claims below, and all technical ideas within a scope equivalent thereto should be interpreted as being included in the scope of the rights of the present disclosure.

10: Radar control device 20: Self-vehicle
30: Object 35: Front vehicle
110: Receiver 120: Output
130: Judgment

Claims (12)

A receiving unit that receives forward driving information about the surroundings of the vehicle from radar;
In the above forward driving information, when an object other than the front vehicle is detected, a calculation unit that calculates a first velocity ratio based on the relative velocity of the front vehicle and the self-vehicle and the vertical angle of the radar to the front vehicle, and calculates a second velocity ratio based on the relative velocity of the object and the self-vehicle and the vertical angle of the radar to the object; and
It includes a judgment unit that determines whether the vertical angle of the radar is misaligned based on the first speed ratio and the second speed ratio.
The above output section,
A speed ratio is calculated for each of multiple objects detected during a predetermined time, and the highest speed ratio among the speed ratios for the multiple objects is calculated as the second speed ratio.
A radar control device that determines the angle between an object having a vertical angle corresponding to the second speed ratio and a front vehicle having a vertical angle corresponding to the first speed ratio as the vertical deflection angle of the radar when the speed ratio for the object having a vertical angle corresponding to the second speed ratio is 1. In the first paragraph,
The above output section,
A radar control device that calculates the first speed ratio and the second speed ratio when the object is detected within a predetermined vertical angle. In the second paragraph,
The above output section,
A radar control device that calculates a speed ratio for each object when multiple objects are detected within the above-determined vertical angle, and calculates the highest speed ratio as the second speed ratio. delete In the first paragraph,
The above output section,
A radar control device that calculates the first speed ratio and the second speed ratio respectively when the above object and the front driving vehicle are stopped. In the first paragraph,
The above judgment committee,
A radar control device that determines that the vertical angle of the radar is misaligned when the second speed ratio is greater than the first speed ratio. A forward driving information receiving step for receiving forward driving information about the surroundings of the vehicle from a radar;
A speed ratio calculation step for calculating a first speed ratio based on the relative speed of the front vehicle and the self-vehicle and the vertical angle of the radar to the front vehicle when an object other than the front vehicle is detected in the above forward driving information, and calculating a second speed ratio based on the relative speed of the object and the self-vehicle and the vertical angle of the radar to the object; and
It includes a vertical angle determination step for determining whether the vertical angle of the radar is misaligned based on the first speed ratio and the second speed ratio.
The above speed ratio calculation step is,
A speed ratio is calculated for each of the multiple objects detected during a predetermined time, and the speed ratio with the highest speed ratio among the multiple objects is calculated as the second speed ratio.
A radar control method for determining an angle between an object having a vertical angle corresponding to the second speed ratio and a front vehicle having a vertical angle corresponding to the first speed ratio as a vertical deflection angle of the radar when the speed ratio for the object having a vertical angle corresponding to the second speed ratio is 1. In Article 7,
The above speed ratio calculation step is,
A radar control method for calculating the first speed ratio and the second speed ratio when the above object is detected within a predetermined vertical angle. In Article 8,
The above speed ratio calculation step is,
A radar control method for calculating a speed ratio for each object when multiple objects are detected within the above-determined vertical angle, and calculating the highest speed ratio as the second speed ratio. delete In Article 7,
The above speed ratio calculation step is,
A radar control method for calculating the first speed ratio and the second speed ratio when the above object and the front driving vehicle are stopped. In Article 7,
The above vertical angle judgment step is,
A radar control method for determining that the vertical angle of the radar is misaligned when the second speed ratio is greater than the first speed ratio.

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