Geometric configuration forming method and device of two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna array for MIMO radar imaging, two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna array and vehicle-mounted radar system

Abstract

The invention discloses a geometric configuration forming method and device of a two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna array for MIMO radar imaging, the two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna array and a vehicle-mounted radar system. The geometric configuration forming method comprises the following steps: acquiring a two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna array comprising at least one transmitting array element group forming a parallelogram and at least one receiving array element group forming a parallelogram; array element coordinates of transmitting array element groups of the two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna array are adjusted according to a preset adjustment distance, so that the transmitting array element groups form a non-parallelogram, and then a non-parallelogram transmitting array element group is formed; and adjusting array element coordinates of receiving array element groups of the two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna array according to a preset adjustment distance to enable the receiving array element groups to form a non-parallelogram, thereby forming a non-parallelogram receiving array element group. According to the technical scheme, shielding of antenna array element projection is reduced, the angle resolution is improved, array factor side lobes are reduced, and therefore the imaging quality of a vehicle-mounted radar is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of vehicle-mounted radar, and more specifically, to a method and device for forming a geometric configuration of a two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna array for MIMO radar imaging, a two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna array, and a vehicle-mounted radar system. Background Art

[0002] For automotive radar, the angular resolution of the radar affects the imaging quality. The angular resolution of the two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna array used for MIMO radar imaging at different cutting angles affects the imaging resolution of the on-board imaging process of the automotive radar equipment, and thus affects the imaging quality of the automotive radar.

[0003] The inventors of this application have discovered that existing two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna arrays may contain four array elements forming a parallelogram. The projections of these four elements at two cut angles can be blocked, reducing the number of one-dimensional array projections at these two cut angles from four to two. This leads to reduced angular resolution and increased array factor sidelobes at these two cut angles.

[0004] The contents of the background technology are merely technologies known to the public and do not necessarily represent existing technologies in this field. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The present application provides a method and device for forming the geometric configuration of a two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna array for MIMO radar imaging, a two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna array, and a vehicle-mounted radar system, which are used to solve at least one of the above-mentioned technical problems.

[0006] According to one aspect of the present application, a method for forming a geometric configuration of a two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna array for MIMO radar imaging is provided. The method includes: obtaining a two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna array including at least one transmit array element group forming a parallelogram and at least one receive array element group forming a parallelogram; adjusting the array element coordinates of the transmit array element group of the two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna array according to a preset adjustment distance so that the transmit array element group forms a non-parallelogram, thereby forming a non-parallelogram transmit array element group; and adjusting the array element coordinates of the receive array element group of the two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna array according to the preset adjustment distance so that the receive array element group forms a non-parallelogram, thereby forming a non-parallelogram receive array element group.

[0007] According to some embodiments of the present application, adjusting the array element coordinates of a transmit array element group of a two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna array according to a preset adjustment distance so that the transmit array element group forms a non-parallelogram, thereby forming a non-parallelogram transmit array element group includes: determining an adjustment interval of the array element coordinates with the preset adjustment distance as a boundary; adjusting at least one array element coordinate of the transmit array element group within the adjustment interval so that the transmit array element group forms a non-parallelogram; and forming the non-parallelogram transmit array element group when it is determined that a second preset condition is satisfied, wherein the second preset condition is that the number of projections of the transmit array element group under different observation angles is not less than three, the array element spacing is not less than a preset array element spacing threshold, and the array aperture is not less than a preset array element aperture threshold.

[0008] According to some embodiments of the present application, adjusting the array element coordinates of a receiving array element group of a two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna array according to a preset adjustment distance so that the receiving array element group all forms a non-parallelogram, thereby forming a non-parallelogram receiving array element group includes: determining an adjustment interval for the array element coordinates with the preset adjustment distance as a boundary; adjusting at least one array element coordinate of the receiving array element group within the adjustment interval so that the receiving array element group forms a non-parallelogram; and forming the non-parallelogram receiving array element group when it is determined that a third preset condition is satisfied, wherein the third preset condition is that the number of projections of the receiving array element group under different observation angles is not less than three, the array element spacing is not less than a preset array element spacing threshold, and the array aperture is not less than a preset array element aperture threshold.

[0009] According to some embodiments of the present application, obtaining a two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna array including at least one transmitting array element group forming a parallelogram and at least one receiving array element group forming a parallelogram includes: constructing a target transmitting array element coordinate grid point set and a target receiving array element coordinate grid point set on a two-dimensional plane; determining a target transmitting array element coordinate set based on the target transmitting array element coordinate grid point set; determining a target receiving array element coordinate set based on the target receiving array element coordinate grid point set; and based on the target transmitting array element coordinate set and the target receiving array element coordinate set, obtaining a two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna array including at least one transmitting array element group forming a parallelogram and at least one receiving array element group forming a parallelogram.

[0010] According to some embodiments of the present application, obtaining a two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna array including at least one transmit array element group forming a parallelogram and at least one receive array element group forming a parallelogram based on a target transmit array element coordinate set and a target receive array element coordinate set includes: performing initial grid division on the target transmit array element coordinate set and the target receive array element coordinate set to determine an initial quadrilateral transmit array element group and an initial quadrilateral receive array element group; and screening the initial quadrilateral transmit array element group and the initial quadrilateral receive array element group according to a first preset condition to obtain a two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna array including at least one transmit array element group forming a parallelogram and at least one receive array element group forming a parallelogram.

[0011] According to some embodiments of the present application, constructing a transmit array element coordinate grid point set and a receive array element coordinate grid point set on a two-dimensional plane includes: respectively designing a first one-dimensional MIMO array in the horizontal direction and a second one-dimensional MIMO array in the vertical direction; determining a first transmit array element coordinate set, a first receive array element coordinate set, a second transmit array element coordinate set, and a second receive array element coordinate set based on the first one-dimensional MIMO array and the second one-dimensional MIMO array; and constructing a target transmit array element coordinate grid point set and a target receive array element coordinate grid point set based on the first transmit array element coordinate set, the first receive array element coordinate set, the second transmit array element coordinate set, and the second receive array element coordinate set.

[0012] According to another aspect of the present application, a two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna array for MIMO radar imaging is also provided. The two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna array includes at least one non-parallelogram transmit array element group and at least one non-parallelogram receive array element group. The non-parallelogram transmit array element group is obtained by first forming a parallelogram on a two-dimensional plane with four transmit array elements, and then adjusting the array element coordinates of the transmit array elements according to a preset adjustment distance. The non-parallelogram receive array element group is obtained by first forming a parallelogram on a two-dimensional plane with four receive array elements, and then adjusting the array element coordinates of the receive array elements according to a preset adjustment distance.

[0013] According to some embodiments of the present application, the number of projections of the non-parallelogram transmitting array element group and the non-parallelogram receiving array element group under different observation angles is not less than three; the array element spacing of the two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna array is not less than a preset array element spacing threshold; and the array aperture of the two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna array is not less than a preset array element aperture threshold.

[0014] According to another aspect of the present application, a device for acquiring the geometric configuration of a two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna array for MIMO radar imaging is provided. The geometric configuration acquisition device is configured to execute the geometric configuration formation method described above. The geometric configuration acquisition device includes a geometric configuration acquisition module and an array element coordinate adjustment module. The geometric configuration acquisition module is configured to acquire a two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna array comprising at least one transmit array element group forming a parallelogram and at least one receive array element group forming a parallelogram. The array element coordinate adjustment module is configured to adjust the array element coordinates of the transmit array element group of the two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna array according to a preset adjustment distance, so that the transmit array element group forms a non-parallelogram, thereby forming a non-parallelogram transmit array element group. The array element coordinate adjustment module is further configured to adjust the array element coordinates of the receive array element group of the two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna array according to a preset adjustment distance, so that each receive array element group forms a non-parallelogram, thereby forming a non-parallelogram receive array element group.

[0015] According to another aspect of the present application, a vehicle-mounted radar system is also provided, comprising the two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna array of the present application.

[0016] According to another aspect of the present application, an electronic device is provided. The electronic device includes one or more processors and a storage device. The storage device is configured to store one or more programs. When the one or more programs are executed by the one or more processors, the one or more processors implement the geometric configuration forming method of the present application.

[0017] According to another aspect of the present application, the present application further provides a non-volatile computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, wherein when the computer program is executed by a processor, the geometric configuration forming method of the present application is implemented.

[0018] According to another aspect of the present application, a computer program product is provided, comprising a computer program stored on a computer-readable storage medium. The computer program comprises program instructions. When the program instructions are executed by a computer, the computer executes the geometric configuration forming method of the present application.

[0019] Beneficial effects

[0020] The technical solution of the present application first obtains at least one transmitting array element group forming a parallelogram and at least one receiving array element group forming a parallelogram, and then adjusts the array element coordinates so that both the transmitting array element group and the receiving array element group form non-parallelograms, thereby reducing the number of array element projections of the transmitting array element group and the receiving array element group at different cutting angles, improving the angular resolution, reducing the array factor sidelobes, and thus improving the imaging quality of the vehicle-mounted radar. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the description of the embodiments. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without any creative work.

[0022] Figure 1 1 is a flow chart showing a method 1000 for forming a geometric configuration according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0023] Figure 2 1 is a flow chart showing step S200 of the method 1000 for forming a geometric configuration according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0024] Figure 3 1 is a flow chart showing step S300 of the method 1000 for forming a geometric configuration according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0025] Figure 4 1 is a flow chart showing step S100 of the method 1000 for forming a geometric configuration according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0026] Figure 5 1 is a flow chart showing step S140 of the method 1000 for forming a geometric configuration according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0027] Figure 6 1 is a flow chart showing step S110 of the method 1000 for forming a geometric configuration according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0028] Figure 7 A schematic structural diagram of a two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna array before coordinate adjustment according to an embodiment of the present application is shown;

[0029] Figure 8 A schematic diagram of the structure of a two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna array after coordinate adjustment according to an embodiment of the present application is shown;

[0030] Figure 9 A schematic diagram showing a comparison of the coordinates of a two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna array before and after adjustment according to an embodiment of the present application is shown;

[0031] Figure 10 A schematic structural diagram of a geometric configuration acquisition device according to an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0032] Description of reference numerals:

[0033] Two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna array 1a; non-parallelogram transmitting array element group 11a; non-parallelogram receiving array element group 12a; two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna array 1b; non-parallelogram transmitting array element group 11b; non-parallelogram receiving array element group 12b; geometric configuration acquisition device 2; geometric configuration acquisition module 21; array element coordinate adjustment module 22. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0034] Example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, example embodiments can be embodied in many forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete and will fully convey the concepts of the example embodiments to those skilled in the art. Like reference numerals in the drawings represent like or similar parts, and thus repetitive description thereof will be omitted.

[0035] The described features may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. In the following description, many specific details are provided to provide a full understanding of the embodiments of the present disclosure. However, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the technical solutions of the present disclosure may be practiced without one or more of these specific details, or may employ other modes, components, materials, devices, etc. In these cases, known methods, devices, implementations, materials, or operations will not be shown or described in detail.

[0036] Furthermore, the terms "include," "comprise," and "have," and any variations thereof, are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions. For example, a process, method, system, product, or apparatus comprising a series of steps or elements is not limited to the listed steps or elements, but may optionally include steps or elements not listed, or may optionally include other steps or elements inherent to the process, method, product, or apparatus.

[0037] The terms "first", "second" and the like in the specification, claims and drawings of this application are used to distinguish different objects rather than to describe a specific order.

[0038] The following is a clear and complete description of the technical solution of this application in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of this application. Obviously, the embodiments described are part of the embodiments of this application, not all of them. Based on the embodiments in this application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without making any creative efforts are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0039] According to one aspect of the present application, a method for forming a geometric configuration of a two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna array is provided. Figure 1 FIG. 1 is a flow chart of a method 1000 for forming a geometric configuration according to an embodiment of the present application. Figure 1 As shown, the geometric configuration forming method 1000 includes steps S100 to S300. Exemplarily, the geometric configuration forming method of the two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna array can be executed by a geometric configuration acquisition device with computing capabilities.

[0040] In step S100, a two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna array including at least one transmitting array element group forming a parallelogram and at least one receiving array element group forming a parallelogram is obtained.

[0041] For example, the geometric configuration acquisition device can directly acquire a user-provided two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna array comprising at least one transmit array element group forming a parallelogram and at least one receive array element group forming a parallelogram. The collective configuration acquisition device can also construct a two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna array comprising at least one transmit array element group forming a parallelogram and at least one receive array element group forming a parallelogram.

[0042] In step S200 , the array element coordinates of the transmit array element group of the two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna array are adjusted according to a preset adjustment distance so that the transmit array element group forms a non-parallelogram, thereby forming a non-parallelogram transmit array element group.

[0043] For example, the geometric configuration acquisition device may employ a heuristic search algorithm to adjust the coordinates of at least one element of the transmit array element group within a preset adjustment distance range, so that the transmit array element group forms a non-parallelogram. Exemplarily, the preset adjustment distance ranges from 3 mm to one carrier wavelength. Exemplarily, the preset adjustment distance ranges from 3 mm to 3 mm.

[0044] In step S300, the array element coordinates of the receiving array element group of the two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna array are adjusted according to the preset adjustment distance so that the receiving array element group forms a non-parallelogram, thereby forming a non-parallelogram receiving array element group.

[0045] For example, the geometric configuration acquisition device may use a heuristic search algorithm to adjust the coordinates of at least one element of the receiving array element group within a preset adjustment distance range, so that the receiving array element group forms a non-parallelogram.

[0046] According to the above embodiment, at least one transmit array element group and at least one receive array element group forming a parallelogram are first obtained; then the array element coordinates are adjusted so that both the transmit array element group and the receive array element group form non-parallelograms. Therefore, the above technical solution can reduce the number of array element projections for the transmit array element group and the receive array element group at different tangent angles, improve angular resolution, and reduce array factor sidelobes, thereby improving the imaging quality of the vehicle-mounted radar.

[0047] Figure 2 A flow chart of step S200 of the geometric configuration forming method 1000 according to an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0048] According to an example embodiment, Figure 2 As shown, step S200 includes steps S210-S230.

[0049] In step S210 , the adjustment interval of the array element coordinates is determined with the preset adjustment distance as the boundary.

[0050] For example, the adjustment interval may be a circular interval with the vertices of the parallelogram as a reference and the preset adjustment distance as a radius. For example, when the preset adjustment distance is 3 mm, the adjustment interval is a circular interval with a radius of 3 mm.

[0051] In step S220 , at least one array element coordinate of the transmit array element group is adjusted within the adjustment interval so that the transmit array element group forms a non-parallelogram.

[0052] For example, the geometric configuration acquisition device may adjust the coordinates of at least one element of the transmit element group based on a heuristic search algorithm. Exemplarily, the heuristic search algorithm may be a random search algorithm, a simulated annealing algorithm, or a genetic algorithm.

[0053] In step S230 , when it is determined that the second preset condition is satisfied, a non-parallelogram transmit array element group is formed.

[0054] For example, the second preset condition may be that the number of projections of the transmit array element group at different observation angles is no less than three, the array element spacing is no less than a preset array element spacing threshold, and the array aperture is no less than a preset array element aperture threshold. For example, the preset array element spacing threshold may be no less than 0.7 times the carrier wavelength, and the preset array element aperture threshold may be no less than 1.5 times the array boundary size.

[0055] Through the above embodiments, the technical solution of the present application realizes the formation of non-parallelogram transmit array elements by adjusting the coordinates according to preset conditions, thereby improving the angular resolution of the two-dimensional MIMO antenna array and reducing the array factor sidelobes.

[0056] Figure 3 A flow chart of step S300 of the geometric configuration forming method 1000 according to an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0057] According to an example embodiment, Figure 3 As shown, step S300 includes steps S310-S330.

[0058] In step S310 , the adjustment interval of the array element coordinates is determined with the preset adjustment distance as the boundary.

[0059] For example, the adjustment interval may be a circular interval with the vertices of the parallelogram as a reference and the preset adjustment distance as a radius. For example, when the preset adjustment distance is 3 mm, the adjustment interval is a circular interval with a radius of 3 mm.

[0060] In step S320 , the coordinate of at least one element of the receiving element group is adjusted within the adjustment interval so that the receiving element group forms a non-parallelogram.

[0061] For example, the geometric configuration acquisition device may adjust the coordinates of at least one element of the receiving element group based on a heuristic search algorithm. Exemplarily, the heuristic search algorithm may be a random search algorithm, a simulated annealing algorithm, or a genetic algorithm.

[0062] In step S330 , when it is determined that the third preset condition is satisfied, a non-parallelogram receiving array element group is formed.

[0063] For example, the third preset condition may be that the number of projections of the receiving array element group under different observation angles is not less than three, the array element spacing is not less than a preset array element spacing threshold, and the array aperture is not less than a preset array element aperture threshold.

[0064] Through the above embodiments, the technical solution of the present application realizes the formation of a non-parallelogram receiving array element group by adjusting the coordinates according to preset conditions, thereby improving the angular resolution of the two-dimensional MIMO antenna array and reducing the array factor sidelobes.

[0065] Figure 4 A flow chart of step S100 of the geometric configuration forming method 1000 according to an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0066] According to an example embodiment, Figure 4 As shown, step S100 includes steps S110-S140.

[0067] In step S110 , a target transmitting array element coordinate grid point set and a target receiving array element coordinate grid point set are constructed on a two-dimensional plane.

[0068] For example, the geometric configuration acquisition device can use a Cartesian coordinate system to establish a two-dimensional plane grid, where the grid spacing is determined by the carrier wavelength. The grid spacing refers to the horizontal or vertical distance between adjacent grid points when constructing the target transmit array element coordinate grid point set and the target receive array element coordinate grid point set on the two-dimensional plane.

[0069] For example, when the carrier wavelength is 7.5 cm, the grid spacing can be set to 0.5 times the carrier wavelength, i.e., 3.75 cm. The geometric configuration acquisition device can determine the number of array elements and the spacing between them in the horizontal direction based on the horizontal angular resolution requirement and the grating lobe-free field of view angle, and determine the number of array elements and the spacing between them in the vertical direction based on the vertical angular resolution requirement and the grating lobe-free field of view angle, based on the Cartesian coordinate system. The coordinates of the two one-dimensional arrays in the horizontal and vertical directions can then be combined to ultimately form a target transmit array element coordinate grid set and a target receive array element coordinate grid set.

[0070] In step S120 , a target transmit array element coordinate set is determined according to the target transmit array element coordinate grid point set.

[0071] For example, the geometric configuration acquisition device may select a first preset number of transmit element coordinate grid points from the target transmit element coordinate grid point set to determine the target transmit element coordinate set.

[0072] In step S130 , a target receiving element coordinate set is determined according to the target receiving element coordinate grid point set.

[0073] For example, the geometric configuration acquisition device may select a second preset number of receiving array element coordinate grid points from the target receiving array element coordinate grid point set to determine as the target receiving array element coordinate set. Exemplarily, the second preset number may be an integer multiple of 4.

[0074] In step S140, based on the target transmit array element coordinate set and the target receive array element coordinate set, a two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna array including at least one transmit array element group forming a parallelogram and at least one receive array element group forming a parallelogram is obtained.

[0075] For example, the geometric configuration acquisition device may select at least one transmitting array element group forming a parallelogram from the target transmitting array element coordinate set based on a recognition algorithm. The geometric configuration acquisition device may select at least one receiving array element group forming a parallelogram from the target receiving array element coordinate set based on a recognition algorithm.

[0076] For example, the identification algorithm identification process may include selecting four transmit elements from the target transmit element coordinate set, respectively labeled as element A, element B, element C, and element D. When it is determined that vector AB = vector DC and vector AD = vector BC, it can be determined that the four transmit elements form a transmit element group forming a parallelogram.

[0077] Illustratively, the recognition algorithm recognition process may further include selecting four receiving elements from the target receiving element coordinate set, respectively labeled as element E, element F, element G, and element H. When it is determined that vector EF = vector GH and vector EH = vector FG, it can be determined that the four receiving elements constitute a receiving element group forming a parallelogram.

[0078] Through the above embodiments, the technical solution of the present application constructs a two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna array comprising at least one transmitting array element group forming a parallelogram and at least one receiving array element group forming a parallelogram in a step-by-step manner.

[0079] Figure 5 A flow chart of step S140 of the geometric configuration forming method 1000 according to an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0080] According to an example embodiment, Figure 5 As shown, step S140 includes steps S141-S142.

[0081] In step S141 , initial grid division is performed on the target transmit array element coordinate set and the target receive array element coordinate set to determine an initial quadrilateral transmit array element group and an initial quadrilateral receive array element group.

[0082] For example, the geometric configuration acquisition device can use the Delaunay triangulation algorithm to topologically connect the target transmitting array element coordinate set and the target receiving array element coordinate set, and construct quadrilateral units by traversing adjacent array element nodes. Each quadrilateral unit is composed of four adjacent array element coordinates. Finally, the initial quadrilateral transmitting array element group is determined according to the four adjacent transmitting array element coordinates, and the initial quadrilateral receiving array element group is determined according to the four adjacent receiving array element coordinates.

[0083] For example, the geometric configuration acquisition device may set the maximum side length of the quadrilateral to be less than or equal to 2 times the carrier wavelength. The geometric configuration acquisition device may set the ratio of the long side to the short side of the quadrilateral to not exceed a preset ratio threshold, which may be 2.

[0084] In step S142, according to the first preset condition, the initial quadrilateral transmit array element group and the initial quadrilateral receive array element group are screened to obtain a two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna array including at least one transmit array element group forming a parallelogram and at least one receive array element group forming a parallelogram.

[0085] For example, the first preset condition may be that opposite sides of the initial quadrilateral transmitting array element group are parallel to each other and opposite sides of the initial quadrilateral receiving array element group are parallel to each other.

[0086] Through the above-described embodiments, the technical solution of the present application first determines an initial quadrilateral transmit array element group and an initial quadrilateral receive array element group forming a quadrilateral, and then screens the initial quadrilateral transmit array element group and the initial quadrilateral receive array element group to ultimately obtain a two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna array including at least one transmit array element group forming a parallelogram and at least one receive array element group forming a parallelogram. Through the above-described technical solution, the present application reduces the difficulty of screening through a two-step screening method, thereby improving the efficiency of screening.

[0087] Figure 6 A flow chart of step S110 of the geometric configuration forming method 1000 according to an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0088] According to an example embodiment, Figure 6 As shown, step S110 includes steps S111-S113.

[0089] In step S111 , a first one-dimensional MIMO array in the horizontal direction and a second one-dimensional MIMO array in the vertical direction are designed respectively.

[0090] For example, the first one-dimensional MIMO array may be a uniform one-dimensional MIMO array in the horizontal direction, and the second one-dimensional MIMO array may be a uniform one-dimensional MIMO array in the vertical direction.

[0091] In step S112, a first transmit element coordinate set, a first receive element coordinate set, a second transmit element coordinate set, and a second receive element coordinate set are determined based on the first one-dimensional MIMO array and the second one-dimensional MIMO array.

[0092] For example, the first transmit array element coordinate set is a transmit array element coordinate set in the horizontal direction, the first receive array element coordinate set is a receive array element coordinate set in the horizontal direction, the second transmit array element coordinate set is a transmit array element coordinate set in the vertical direction, and the second receive array element coordinate set is a receive array element coordinate set in the vertical direction.

[0093] In step S113 , a target transmitting element coordinate grid point set and a target receiving element coordinate grid point set are constructed based on the first transmitting element coordinate set, the first receiving element coordinate set, the second transmitting element coordinate set, and the second receiving element coordinate set.

[0094] For example, the geometric configuration acquisition device may perform spatial coordinate convolution on the first transmit array element coordinate set and the first receive array element coordinate set to construct a target transmit array element coordinate grid point set. The geometric configuration acquisition device may perform spatial coordinate convolution on the second transmit array element coordinate set and the second receive array element coordinate set to construct a target receive array element coordinate grid point set.

[0095] Through the above embodiments, the technical solution of the present application finally realizes the construction of the target transmitting array element coordinate grid point set and the target receiving array element coordinate grid point set through a step-by-step construction method.

[0096] According to another aspect of the present application, the present application further provides a two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna array for MIMO radar imaging, wherein the two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna array is manufactured according to the geometric configuration forming method 1000 .

[0097] Figure 7 A schematic structural diagram of a two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna array before coordinate adjustment according to an embodiment of the present application is shown. Figure 8 A schematic diagram of the structure of the two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna array after coordinate adjustment according to an embodiment of the present application is shown. Figure 9 A schematic diagram showing a comparison of the coordinates of a two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna array before and after adjustment according to an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0098] According to an example embodiment, Figure 7 As shown, a two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna 1a includes at least one parallelogram-shaped transmit array element group 11a and at least one parallelogram-shaped receive array element group 12a. Array element occlusion may occur at angles perpendicular to two adjacent parallelogram sides, reducing the number of element projections to two at these angles. This reduces the angular resolution of the two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna 1a and increases the array factor sidelobes, thereby affecting the imaging quality of the MIMO radar device.

[0099] According to example embodiments, Figure 8 As shown, the two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna array 1b includes at least one non-parallelogram transmitting array element group 11b and at least one non-parallelogram receiving array element group 12b.

[0100] The non-parallelogram transmit array element group 11b is obtained by first forming a parallelogram on a two-dimensional plane with four transmit array elements, and then adjusting the array element coordinates of the transmit array elements according to a preset adjustment distance. The non-parallelogram receive array element group 12b is obtained by first forming a parallelogram on a two-dimensional plane with four receive array elements, and then adjusting the array element coordinates of the receive array elements according to a preset adjustment distance.

[0101] For example, the non-parallelogram transmit array element group 11b is obtained by adjusting the array element coordinates of the parallelogram transmit array element group 11a according to a preset adjustment distance. The non-parallelogram receive array element group 12b is obtained by adjusting the array element coordinates of the parallelogram receive array element group 12a according to a preset adjustment distance.

[0102] After the above coordinate adjustment, the non-parallelogram transmitting array element group 11b and the at least one non-parallelogram receiving array element group 12b have no less than three projections at different cutting angles.

[0103] According to example embodiments, Figure 9 As shown, the two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna array includes 8 transmit elements and 8 receive elements. Before element coordinate adjustment, the 8 transmit elements form two parallelogram-shaped transmit element groups, and the 8 receive elements form two parallelogram-shaped receive element groups. After coordinate adjustment, at least one of the 8 transmit elements forms two non-parallelogram-shaped transmit element groups. After coordinate adjustment, at least one of the 8 receive elements forms two non-parallelogram-shaped receive element groups.

[0104] Through the above embodiments, the technical solution of the present application reduces the number of array element projections of the transmitting array element group and the receiving array element group at different cutting angles by designing a two-dimensional MIMO antenna array composed of at least one non-parallelogram transmitting array element group and at least one non-parallelogram receiving array element group after adjustment based on a parallelogram, thereby improving the angular resolution and reducing the array factor sidelobes, thereby improving the imaging quality of the vehicle-mounted radar.

[0105] Optionally, the preset adjustment distance ranges from 3 mm to one carrier wavelength.

[0106] Through the above embodiments, the technical solution of the present application improves the precision and accuracy of adjustment by limiting the range of the preset adjustment distance.

[0107] Optionally, the number of projections of the non-parallelogram transmitting array element group 11b and the non-parallelogram receiving array element group 12b under different observation angles is not less than three; the array element spacing of the non-parallelogram transmitting array element group 11b and the non-parallelogram receiving array element group 12b is not less than a preset array element spacing threshold; and the array aperture of the non-parallelogram transmitting array element group 11b and the non-parallelogram receiving array element group 12b is not less than a preset array element aperture threshold.

[0108] Through the above embodiments, the technical solution of the present application limits the numerical range of the number of projections, array element spacing and array aperture of the non-parallelogram transmitting array element group and the non-parallelogram receiving array element group, and further limits the quadrilateral shape range of the two-dimensional MIMO antenna array composed of the non-parallelogram transmitting array element group and the non-parallelogram receiving array element group, thereby improving the angular resolution and reducing the array factor sidelobes, thereby improving the imaging quality of the vehicle-mounted radar.

[0109] According to another aspect of the present application, a device for acquiring the geometric configuration of a two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna array for MIMO radar imaging is also provided.

[0110] Figure 10 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of a geometric configuration acquisition device according to an embodiment of the present application. Figure 10 As shown, the geometric configuration acquisition device 2 includes a geometric configuration acquisition module 21 and an array element coordinate adjustment module 22 .

[0111] The geometric configuration acquisition module 21 is used to acquire a two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna array including at least one transmitting array element group forming a parallelogram and at least one receiving array element group forming a parallelogram.

[0112] For example, the geometric configuration acquisition module 21 can directly acquire a user-provided two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna array comprising at least one transmit array element group forming a parallelogram and at least one receive array element group forming a parallelogram. The collective configuration acquisition module 21 can also construct a two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna array comprising at least one transmit array element group forming a parallelogram and at least one receive array element group forming a parallelogram.

[0113] The geometric configuration acquisition module 21 is used to construct a target transmitting array element coordinate grid point set and a target receiving array element coordinate grid point set on a two-dimensional plane.

[0114] According to an example embodiment, the geometric configuration acquisition module 21 may design a first one-dimensional MIMO array in the horizontal direction and a second one-dimensional MIMO array in the vertical direction, respectively.

[0115] For example, the first one-dimensional MIMO array may be a uniform one-dimensional MIMO array in the horizontal direction, and the second one-dimensional MIMO array may be a uniform one-dimensional MIMO array in the vertical direction.

[0116] The geometric configuration acquisition module 21 may determine a first transmit element coordinate set, a first receive element coordinate set, a second transmit element coordinate set, and a second receive element coordinate set based on the first one-dimensional MIMO array and the second one-dimensional MIMO array.

[0117] For example, the first transmit array element coordinate set is a transmit array element coordinate set in the horizontal direction, the first receive array element coordinate set is a receive array element coordinate set in the horizontal direction, the second transmit array element coordinate set is a transmit array element coordinate set in the vertical direction, and the second receive array element coordinate set is a receive array element coordinate set in the vertical direction.

[0118] The geometric configuration acquisition module 21 may construct a target transmitting element coordinate grid point set and a target receiving element coordinate grid point set based on the first transmitting element coordinate set, the first receiving element coordinate set, the second transmitting element coordinate set, and the second receiving element coordinate set.

[0119] For example, the geometric configuration acquisition device 2 may perform spatial coordinate convolution on the first transmit array element coordinate set and the first receive array element coordinate set to construct a target transmit array element coordinate grid point set. The geometric configuration acquisition device 2 may perform spatial coordinate convolution on the second transmit array element coordinate set and the second receive array element coordinate set to construct a target receive array element coordinate grid point set.

[0120] The geometric configuration acquisition module 21 is further configured to determine a target transmit array element coordinate set according to the target transmit array element coordinate grid point set.

[0121] For example, the geometric configuration acquisition module 21 may select a first preset number of transmit element coordinate grid points from the target transmit element coordinate grid point set to determine as the target transmit element coordinate set.

[0122] The geometric configuration acquisition module 21 is further configured to determine a target receiving array element coordinate set according to the target receiving array element coordinate grid point set.

[0123] For example, the geometric configuration acquisition module 21 may select a second preset number of receiving element coordinate grid points from the target receiving element coordinate grid point set to determine as the target receiving element coordinate set.

[0124] The geometric configuration acquisition module 21 is further configured to determine at least one transmitting array element group forming a parallelogram and at least one receiving array element group forming a parallelogram based on the target transmitting array element coordinate set and the target receiving array element coordinate set.

[0125] For example, the geometric configuration acquisition module 21 may select at least one transmit array element group forming a parallelogram from the target transmit array element coordinate set based on a recognition algorithm. The geometric configuration acquisition module 21 may select at least one receive array element group forming a parallelogram from the target receive array element coordinate set based on a recognition algorithm.

[0126] For example, the identification algorithm identification process may include selecting four transmit elements from the target transmit element coordinate set, respectively labeled as element A, element B, element C, and element D. When it is determined that vector AB = vector DC and vector AD = vector BC, it can be determined that the four transmit elements form a transmit element group forming a parallelogram.

[0127] Illustratively, the recognition algorithm recognition process may further include selecting four receiving elements from the target receiving element coordinate set, respectively labeled as element E, element F, element G, and element H. When it is determined that vector EF = vector GH and vector EH = vector FG, it can be determined that the four receiving elements constitute a receiving element group forming a parallelogram.

[0128] According to an example embodiment, the geometric configuration acquisition module 21 may perform initial grid division on the target transmit array element coordinate set and the target receive array element coordinate set to determine an initial quadrilateral transmit array element group and an initial quadrilateral receive array element group.

[0129] For example, the geometric configuration acquisition module 21 can use the Delaunay triangulation algorithm to topologically connect the target transmitting array element coordinate set and the target receiving array element coordinate set, and construct quadrilateral units by traversing adjacent array element nodes. Each quadrilateral unit is composed of four adjacent array element coordinates. Finally, an initial quadrilateral transmitting array element group is determined based on the four adjacent transmitting array element coordinates, and an initial quadrilateral receiving array element group is determined based on the four adjacent receiving array element coordinates.

[0130] For example, the geometric configuration acquisition module 21 may set the maximum side length of the quadrilateral to be less than or equal to 2 times the carrier wavelength. The geometric configuration acquisition module 21 may set the ratio of the long side to the short side of the quadrilateral to not exceed a preset ratio threshold, which may be 2.

[0131] The geometric configuration acquisition module 21 can screen the initial quadrilateral transmit array element group and the initial quadrilateral receive array element group according to the first preset condition to obtain a two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna array including at least one transmit array element group forming a parallelogram and at least one receive array element group forming a parallelogram.

[0132] For example, the first preset condition may be that opposite sides of the initial quadrilateral transmitting array element group are parallel to each other and opposite sides of the initial quadrilateral receiving array element group are parallel to each other.

[0133] The array element coordinate adjustment module 22 is configured to adjust the array element coordinates of the transmitting array element group according to a preset adjustment distance so that the transmitting array element group forms a non-parallelogram, thereby forming a non-parallelogram transmitting array element group 11b; and to adjust the array element coordinates of the receiving array element group according to the preset adjustment distance so that all the receiving array element groups form a non-parallelogram, thereby forming a non-parallelogram receiving array element group 12b.

[0134] For example, the array element coordinate adjustment module 22 may adjust the coordinates of at least one array element of the transmit array element group within a preset adjustment distance range, so that the transmit array element group forms a non-parallelogram.

[0135] The array element coordinate adjustment module 22 may form a non-parallelogram transmit array element group 12 a when it is determined that the second preset condition is satisfied.

[0136] For example, the second preset condition may be that the number of projections of the transmit array element group under different observation angles is not less than three, the array element spacing is not less than a preset array element spacing threshold, and the array aperture is not less than a preset array element aperture threshold.

[0137] For example, the array element coordinate adjustment module 22 may adjust the coordinates of at least one array element of the transmit array element group based on a heuristic search algorithm. Exemplarily, the heuristic search algorithm may be a random search algorithm, a simulated annealing algorithm, or a genetic algorithm.

[0138] According to an example embodiment, the array element coordinate adjustment module 22 may determine the adjustment interval of the array element coordinates based on a preset adjustment distance.

[0139] For example, the adjustment interval may be a circular interval with the vertices of the parallelogram as a reference and the preset adjustment distance as a radius. For example, when the preset adjustment distance is 3 mm, the adjustment interval is a circular interval with a radius of 3 mm.

[0140] The array element coordinate adjustment module 22 may adjust at least one array element coordinate of the receiving array element group within the adjustment interval so that the receiving array element group forms a non-parallelogram.

[0141] The array element coordinate adjustment module 22 may form a non-parallelogram receiving array element group 12 b when it is determined that the third preset condition is satisfied.

[0142] For example, the third preset condition may be that the number of projections of the receiving array element group under different observation angles is not less than three, the array element spacing is not less than a preset array element spacing threshold, and the array aperture is not less than a preset array element aperture threshold.

[0143] Through the above embodiments, the technical solution of the present application first determines an initial set of quadrilateral transmit array elements and an initial set of quadrilateral receive array elements that form a quadrilateral, and then screens the initial set of quadrilateral transmit array elements and the initial set of quadrilateral receive array elements to ultimately obtain at least one transmit array element set that forms a parallelogram and at least one receive array element set that forms a parallelogram. Through the above technical solution, the present application reduces the difficulty of screening through a two-step screening method, thereby improving the efficiency of screening.

[0144] According to another aspect of the present application, a vehicle-mounted radar system is also provided, comprising the two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna array of the present application.

[0145] According to another aspect of the present application, an electronic device is provided. The electronic device includes one or more processors and a storage device. The storage device is configured to store one or more programs. When the one or more programs are executed by the one or more processors, the one or more processors implement the geometric configuration forming method of the present application.

[0146] According to another aspect of the present application, the present application further provides a non-volatile computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, wherein when the computer program is executed by a processor, the geometric configuration forming method of the present application is implemented.

[0147] According to another aspect of the present application, a computer program product is provided, comprising a computer program stored on a computer-readable storage medium. The computer program comprises program instructions. When the program instructions are executed by a computer, the computer executes the geometric configuration forming method of the present application.

[0148] Finally, it should be noted that the above description is merely a preferred embodiment of the present application and is not intended to limit the present application. Although the present application is described in detail with reference to the aforementioned embodiments, those skilled in the art will be able to modify the technical solutions of the aforementioned embodiments or replace some of the technical features therein with equivalents. Any modifications, equivalent replacements, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and principles of the present application shall be included within the scope of protection of the present application.

Claims

1. A method for forming a geometric configuration of a two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna array for MIMO radar imaging, characterized in that: include: Acquire a two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna array including at least one transmit array element group forming a parallelogram and at least one receive array element group forming a parallelogram; Adjusting the array element coordinates of the transmit array element group of the two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna array according to a preset adjustment distance so that the transmit array element group forms a non-parallelogram, thereby forming a non-parallelogram transmit array element group; The array element coordinates of the receiving array element group of the two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna array are adjusted according to the preset adjustment distance so that the receiving array element group all forms a non-parallelogram, thereby forming a non-parallelogram receiving array element group.

2. The method for forming a geometric configuration according to claim 1, wherein: The adjusting the array element coordinates of the transmit array element group of the two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna array according to the preset adjustment distance so that the transmit array element group forms a non-parallelogram, thereby forming a non-parallelogram transmit array element group, includes: Determining an adjustment interval of array element coordinates based on the preset adjustment distance; Adjusting at least one array element coordinate of the transmit array element group within the adjustment interval so that the transmit array element group forms a non-parallelogram; The non-parallelogram transmit array element group is formed when it is determined that a second preset condition is met. The second preset condition is that the number of projections of the transmit array element group under different observation angles is not less than three, the array element spacing is not less than a preset array element spacing threshold, and the array aperture is not less than a preset array element aperture threshold.

3. The method for forming a geometric configuration according to claim 1, wherein: The adjusting the array element coordinates of the receiving array element group of the two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna array according to the preset adjustment distance so that the receiving array element groups all form a non-parallelogram, thereby forming a non-parallelogram receiving array element group, includes: Determining an adjustment interval of array element coordinates based on the preset adjustment distance; Adjusting at least one array element coordinate of the receiving array element group within the adjustment interval so that the receiving array element group forms a non-parallelogram; When it is determined that a third preset condition is satisfied, the non-parallelogram receiving array element group is formed. The third preset condition is that the number of projections of the receiving array element group under different observation angles is not less than three, the array element spacing is not less than a preset array element spacing threshold, and the array aperture is not less than a preset array element aperture threshold.

4. The method for forming a geometric configuration according to claim 1, wherein: The obtaining of a two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna array including at least one transmitting array element group forming a parallelogram and at least one receiving array element group forming a parallelogram comprises: Constructing a target transmitting array element coordinate grid set and a target receiving array element coordinate grid set on a two-dimensional plane; Determining a target transmitting array element coordinate set according to the target transmitting array element coordinate grid point set; Determining a target receiving array element coordinate set according to the target receiving array element coordinate grid point set; Based on the target transmit array element coordinate set and the target receive array element coordinate set, the two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna array including at least one transmit array element group forming a parallelogram and at least one receive array element group forming a parallelogram is obtained.

5. The method for forming a geometric configuration according to claim 4, wherein: The acquiring, based on the target transmit array element coordinate set and the target receive array element coordinate set, the two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna array including at least one transmit array element group forming a parallelogram and at least one receive array element group forming a parallelogram, comprises: Performing initial grid division on the target transmitting array element coordinate set and the target receiving array element coordinate set to determine an initial quadrilateral transmitting array element group and an initial quadrilateral receiving array element group; According to a first preset condition, the initial quadrilateral transmit array element group and the initial quadrilateral receive array element group are screened to obtain the two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna array including at least one transmit array element group forming a parallelogram and the at least one receive array element group forming a parallelogram.

6. The method for forming a geometric configuration according to claim 4, wherein: The constructing of a transmit array element coordinate grid point set and a receive array element coordinate grid point set on a two-dimensional plane includes: Designing a first one-dimensional MIMO array in the horizontal direction and a second one-dimensional MIMO array in the vertical direction respectively; Determine a first transmit array element coordinate set, a first receive array element coordinate set, a second transmit array element coordinate set, and a second receive array element coordinate set based on the first one-dimensional MIMO array and the second one-dimensional MIMO array; The target transmitting array element coordinate grid point set and the target receiving array element coordinate grid point set are constructed based on the first transmitting array element coordinate set, the first receiving array element coordinate set, the second transmitting array element coordinate set, and the second receiving array element coordinate set.

7. A two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna array for MIMO radar imaging, wherein: The two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna array comprises: At least one non-parallelogram transmit array element group, wherein the non-parallelogram transmit array element group is obtained by first forming a parallelogram with four transmit array elements on a two-dimensional plane, and then adjusting the array element coordinates of the transmit array elements according to a preset adjustment distance; At least one non-parallelogram receiving array element group, wherein the non-parallelogram receiving array element group is obtained by first forming a parallelogram with four receiving array elements on the two-dimensional plane, and then adjusting the array element coordinates of the receiving array elements according to the preset adjustment distance.

8. The two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna array according to claim 7, characterized in that: The number of projections of the non-parallelogram transmitting array element group and the non-parallelogram receiving array element group under different observation cut angles is not less than three; The element spacing of the two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna array is not less than a preset element spacing threshold; The array aperture of the two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna array is no less than a preset array element aperture threshold.

9. A device for acquiring the geometric configuration of a two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna array for MIMO radar imaging, configured to execute the geometric configuration forming method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: The geometric configuration acquisition device comprises: A geometric configuration acquisition module, configured to acquire a two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna array comprising at least one transmit array element group forming a parallelogram and at least one receive array element group forming a parallelogram; An array element coordinate adjustment module is configured to adjust the array element coordinates of the transmitting array element group of the two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna array according to the preset adjustment distance, so that the transmitting array element group forms a non-parallelogram, thereby forming a non-parallelogram transmitting array element group; the array element coordinate adjustment module is further configured to adjust the array element coordinates of the receiving array element group of the two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna array according to the preset adjustment distance, so that the receiving array element group all forms a non-parallelogram, thereby forming a non-parallelogram receiving array element group.

10. A vehicle-mounted radar system, characterized in that: The invention comprises the two-dimensional planar MIMO antenna array described in any one of claims 7-8.

Images