Method and radar system for providing motion information of at least one second vehicle by first vehicle

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for providing movement information (20) about at least one second vehicle (5) by means of a first vehicle (1), comprising: detecting radar information (16) at at least two consecutive points in time, said radar information describing at least a portion of an environment (6) of the first vehicle (1) in which the at least one second vehicle (5) is located; determining a three-dimensional point cloud (9) for each point in time; determining relationship information (18) describing translation and rotation relationships between the point clouds (9); determining movement information (20) describing a movement of the at least one second vehicle (5); and providing the determined motion information (20). The radar system (2) detects radar information (16) in that data and / or information are / is transmitted within the radar system between an individual radar device (3) of the radar system (2) and the central control device (4) using an at least partial optical transmission technique.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for providing movement information about at least one second vehicle by a first vehicle. Furthermore, the present invention provides a radar system for a vehicle and a vehicle for operating the method. Background Art

[0002] A vehicle may include at least one radar device configured to detect at least one object in the vehicle's environment. Generally, a vehicle includes a plurality of radar devices. The plurality of radar devices may be distributed around the vehicle. With radar devices, objects can be detected even in poor visibility conditions, such as rain, fog, snow, dust conditions, and / or darkness. However, compared to other environmental sensor systems, the resolution of a radar system including a plurality of radar devices may be lower. In addition, transmitting data and / or processing radar information through a plurality of individual radar devices may take a lot of time.

[0003] Document US 2023 / 0136923 A1 describes a method and device with vehicle radar control. At least one processor is designed to collect environmental information of the vehicle and determine the radar mode of the vehicle based on the collected environmental information. One or more control signals for controlling one or more transmitting antenna arrays and / or receiving antenna arrays of the device are determined based on the determined radar mode.

[0004] Document US 2022 / 0231406 A1 discloses a radar antenna layout for a vehicle. The radar antenna layout includes a plurality of radar devices configured to transmit and / or receive radar beams. For the radar antenna layout, at least one column of antennas is provided for determining the azimuth angle of the radar beam.

[0005] Document DE 10 2019 114 883 B3 discloses a layout of a radar antenna for a vehicle, where the radar antenna is located at a glass plate.

[0006] Document DE 10 2017 221 257 A1 discloses a radar system including a radar transmitting unit, a radar receiving unit, a central unit, and a fiber glass for connecting the units. Summary of the Invention

[0007] The technical problem of the present invention is to quickly provide movement information about a vehicle in the environment of another vehicle.

[0008] The independent claims solve this technical problem.

[0009] A first aspect of the present invention relates to a method for providing movement information about at least one second vehicle by a first vehicle. The movement information describes the movement of the second vehicle. For example, the movement information may describe the rotation and / or speed of the second vehicle, or other details about its movement. The first vehicle and the second vehicle are two different vehicles. Alternatively, the first vehicle may also be referred to as the ego vehicle, and at least one second vehicle may be referred to as other vehicles different from the ego vehicle. The first vehicle runs the method. In particular, the radar system of the first vehicle executes the method.

[0010] The method includes detecting radar information that describes at least a part of the environment of the first vehicle, where at least one second vehicle is located in the environment. For example, the radar information may describe the entire environment of the first vehicle or may only describe a part of the environment. The part of the environment is a section or sub-region of the environment. The part of the environment may include the environment in the front region, rear region, and / or at least one lateral region of the vehicle. The radar information may include radar data, or may also be referred to as radar data.

[0011] The detected radar information describes at least a part of the environment at least at two consecutive time points. For example, the radar information describes the part of the environment at a first time point and a second time point different from the first time point. For example, the radar information can be divided into multiple frames, each frame describing at least a part of the environment at its respective time point, which means that each frame is detected at a different time point compared to other frames. In a preferred example, the radar information is detected continuously, especially when the first vehicle is moving and / or starting. Then, the radar information can be detected continuously at a predetermined time interval.

[0012] The radar system of the first vehicle detects the radar information. The radar system includes a plurality of radar devices. For example, each of the plurality of radar devices includes at least one transmitting and / or receiving antenna and / or a control unit. The control unit can at least control at least one transmitting and / or receiving antenna. In addition, the radar system also includes a central control device that is at least designed to control the respective radar devices of the radar system.

[0013] Multiple second vehicles located in the environment of the first vehicle can be described by the radar information. In the case of multiple second vehicles, the radar information can describe each or at least some of the multiple second vehicles.

[0014] The method includes: determining a three-dimensional point cloud at each time point. The corresponding three-dimensional point cloud is determined by applying a point cloud determination algorithm to the detected radar information. The corresponding three-dimensional point cloud describes at least one second vehicle. The corresponding three-dimensional point cloud includes a plurality of points. Each point in the plurality of points can describe a point on the surface of at least one second vehicle at which the electromagnetic wave emitted by the corresponding radar device is reflected, so that the corresponding radar device detects an echo. For example, if the second vehicle is located in front of the first vehicle, the radar devices located in the front area of the first vehicle can respectively detect a plurality of points in the rear area of the second vehicle, so that the three-dimensional point cloud describes the rear area of the second vehicle. The point cloud determination algorithm includes at least one rule that is applied to the detected radar information to calculate the three-dimensional point cloud. Each point of the point cloud can describe the distance from the first vehicle. In the case of multiple second vehicles, each second vehicle can have a point cloud. Preferably, the determined one or more three-dimensional point clouds can distinguish individual second vehicles in the environment.

[0015] The method includes: determining relationship information by applying a relationship determination algorithm to the three-dimensional point cloud. The relationship information describes the translational and rotational relationships between the point clouds at consecutive time points. Therefore, the relationship information describes, for example, the position and orientation changes between the corresponding points of the first point cloud determined at the first time point and the corresponding points of the second point cloud determined at the second time point. Therefore, the corresponding points in the first point cloud are tracked and thus identified in the second point cloud. This applies in particular to multiple time points and all points consisting of multiple point clouds. The relationship information takes into account translational movements in, for example, the height, length, and / or width directions, especially translational movements relative to the coordinate system (x, y, z directions) of the first vehicle. In addition, the relationship information also takes into account rotational movements, which can be described by a rotation matrix and / or at least one angle. The rotational movement can be described relative to the angular coordinate system of the first vehicle. The relationship determination algorithm includes at least one rule that is used to analyze the three-dimensional point clouds from consecutive time points to calculate the relationships between the individual point clouds.

[0016] In other words, the three-dimensional point clouds at multiple time points are determined by analyzing the radar information, and then how the individual points in these point clouds translate and rotate relative to each other over time is determined.

[0017] The method includes determining movement information by applying a movement determination algorithm to the determined relationship information. The movement determination algorithm includes at least one rule that is applied to the determined relationship information to calculate the movement information. The movement information describes the movement of at least one second vehicle. The movement can be, for example, a translational or rotational movement of the second vehicle relative to the first vehicle. It can be, for example, the translational and / or angular velocity of the second vehicle at the considered time point.

[0018] The method includes providing determined motion information. For example, it may include the function of providing the determined motion information to a first vehicle. This function may be a driver assistance system, especially for at least semi-automatic or even fully automatic driving of a vehicle. Thus, the determined motion information is actually used for the first vehicle, such as the control of the first vehicle.

[0019] The radar system detects radar information in such a way that at least data and / or information transmission within the radar system uses at least partially optical transmission technology between, on the one hand, individual radar devices and, on the other hand, the central control device of the radar system. For example, the central control device can provide control instructions to the radar devices so that each radar device emits specific electromagnetic waves into the environment through its at least one transmitting antenna or transmitting and receiving antenna. If at least part of the transmission uses optical transmission technology, the control instructions can be sent to the radar devices at a particularly high speed. In addition, each radar device can transmit the echoes received by its receiving antenna or transmitting and receiving antenna to the central control device via optical transmission technology for further processing. Thus, the transmission speed of the echoes is also particularly high. For example, compared with traditional radar systems, this improves the resolution of the radar system because multiple radar devices can be combined at a higher processing speed. Each radar device in a traditional radar system is controlled by a separate control unit and transmits the data it detects and / or analyzes in the vehicle without using optical transmission technology. Therefore, the method is particularly fast and reliable, and can provide real-time movement information in the vehicle, for example. Thus, the method can quickly provide the motion information of a second vehicle in the environment of the first vehicle.

[0020] The determination steps of this method and the following embodiments are preferably performed by the central control device of the radar system. This means that the central control device can at least determine relationship information and motion information. It can also determine the further information and / or three-dimensional point cloud described below.

[0021] One implementation includes: A function of a first vehicle receives the provided motion information. The function determines at least one control instruction for the first vehicle. The control instruction is especially a control instruction for the drive system, braking system, and / or steering system of the first vehicle. Then, the at least one control instruction may include instructions for longitudinal and / or lateral vehicle guidance. The at least one control instruction is determined by applying an instruction determination algorithm to the received motion information. The instruction determination algorithm includes at least one rule that is applied at least to the motion information, especially further sensor information available on the vehicle, to determine the control requirements of the first vehicle. Then, the function executes the determined control instruction. In other words, the driving, braking, and / or steering of the vehicle can be performed and controlled based on the motion information. For example, if the motion information describes the motion of a second vehicle traveling in front of the first vehicle in an adjacent lane on a road, the function can predict the motion of the second vehicle considering the received motion information and decide whether to increase or decrease the speed of the first vehicle and / or change the driving direction of the first vehicle. The function can be a driver assistance system, such as an adaptive cruise control, lane change assistance, lane change help, emergency braking assistance, and / or parking assistance system.

[0022] Another implementation includes: A function of a first vehicle receives the provided motion information and verifies whether a determined control instruction for the first vehicle is executable by applying a verification algorithm to the received motion information. The determined control instruction can be a control instruction for the drive system, braking system, and / or steering system of the first vehicle. The determined control instruction can be determined by the function and / or the control device of the first vehicle, especially before receiving the motion information. The determined control instruction is preferably determined independently of the motion information. The function applying the verification algorithm can be the same as or different from the function applying the instruction determination algorithm.

[0023] The verification algorithm includes at least one rule to decide whether the determined control instruction should be executed according to the received motion information, or whether the control instruction should not be executed, so as to discard or override it. If it is found that the determined control instruction is executable, the function executes the determined control instruction. Therefore, it can be checked whether the first vehicle should execute the determined control instruction according to the motion information. Only when the verification result is an executable determined control instruction will the function actually operate the first vehicle according to the determined control instruction. This can improve the reliability of the function.

[0024] A preferred embodiment includes: The motion information at least describes the yaw angle, roll angle, and / or pitch angle of at least one second vehicle. In other words, the motion of the second vehicle about the yaw axis, roll axis, and / or pitch axis is calculated, and each axis describes the current motion of at least one second vehicle relative to one of the axes. If the relationship information includes a rotation matrix, the yaw angle, roll angle, and / or pitch angle can be determined by analyzing the rotation matrix.

[0025] The yaw angle describes the motion of the second vehicle about the height axis (z-axis) of the second vehicle. Yaw describes a yaw rotation or turn, and thus also describes the motion of turning left or right about the height axis related to the motion direction of the second vehicle. The motion direction is the driving direction of the second vehicle. In other words, the motion information can describe the motion of the second vehicle deviating from the straight-ahead or reverse driving direction. By considering the yaw angle in advance, information about a possible lane change of the second vehicle can be detected. For example, this is particularly useful for determining whether the second vehicle may leave its lane and potentially collide with the first vehicle.

[0026] The roll axis is the length axis of the second vehicle, which is oriented along the length direction of the second vehicle. The pitch axis is perpendicular to the length axis. It is oriented along the width direction of the second vehicle. The roll or fishtailing of at least one second vehicle can be detected at an early stage by one or more of the three angles, particularly by considering the yaw angle, roll angle, and pitch angle. The detection of the roll or fishtailing of the second vehicle is particularly important if the second vehicle is a truck, bus, and / or a vehicle with a trailer, so that the first vehicle can make a quick response, such as by braking and / or steering away from the rolling second vehicle.

[0027] Another embodiment includes: The motion information at least describes the yaw angular rate, roll angular rate, and / or pitch angular rate of at least one second vehicle. Each rate describes the rotational angular velocity of the second vehicle about its respective axis, which are the above-mentioned yaw axis, roll axis, or pitch axis respectively. Therefore, each rate is the change of each rotational motion over time. It can be understood as the change of the yaw angle, roll angle, and / or pitch angle within a certain time interval. For example, if the respective considered angles are determined for the first and second time points, the time interval can be the time difference between the first and second time points. Therefore, each angular rate contains useful details of the motion of the second vehicle, and these details may be related to the function of the first vehicle.

[0028] Another embodiment includes: The motion information at least describes the translational speed of at least one second vehicle. In particular, the translational speed vector is described. The translational speed can also be referred to as the speed of at least one second vehicle. The determined translational speed is in particular the current speed. Thus, in combination with the above-mentioned yaw rate, roll rate and / or pitch rate, the motion of the second vehicle in all possible directions, i.e., translational and rotational motions, can be analyzed. The translational speed helps to estimate how the second vehicle will move relative to the first vehicle, for example taking into account the speed of the first vehicle itself.

[0029] Furthermore, one embodiment includes: The motion information at least describes the position and orientation of at least one second vehicle relative to the first vehicle. In other words, the motion information can describe the pose of at least one second vehicle. The position can be described by coordinates, in particular in the coordinate system of the first vehicle. The orientation can be described by at least one angle, in particular relative to the angle coordinate system of the first vehicle. At least the orientation can be determined based on the relationship information and / or the above-mentioned angles. Thus, by comparing the temporal changes of the respective point clouds, the orientation of the second vehicle can be determined. The position can be determined based on the distance information contained in the radar information and / or by considering the point cloud and / or the relationship information. This helps to perform a detailed analysis of the second vehicle and how the second vehicle is positioned relative to the first vehicle.

[0030] According to another embodiment, applying a relationship determination algorithm to the three-dimensional point cloud includes matching the respective points of consecutive point clouds. It also includes performing point registration to determine the translation vector and the rotation matrix to describe the relationship. Matching the respective points of consecutive point clouds can be achieved by applying the nearest neighbor method or other measurement methods to determine the similarity of the respective points of the point clouds determined for consecutive time points. For example, some points in the first point cloud at the first time point are marked and searched in the second point cloud at the second time point, so that the corresponding points in the first point cloud and the second point cloud are correlated with each other. Performing point registration may include applying a point registration method to register the point clouds. This can be done by the iterative closest point (ICP) to determine the translation vector t(x, y, z) and the rotation matrix R, thereby determining the relationship between, for example, at least two point clouds. The method may include minimizing a cost function to determine t and R. This explains how the relationship determination algorithm determines the relationship information in a particularly reliable manner.

[0031] Another preferred embodiment includes: The radar system pre-scans the environment of the first vehicle to determine which part of the environment at least one vehicle of interest is located in. For example, if the first vehicle activates the adaptive cruise control function during driving, it may be useful to observe the area in front of the vehicle in the driving direction of the first vehicle. In addition, the vehicle of interest may be located in front of the driving direction of the adjacent lane. Thus, in this example, the vehicles in front of the driving direction, in front of the first vehicle and / or lateral to the first vehicle may all be the vehicles of interest.

[0032] The embodiments include: adjusting the field of view of the radar system so that it covers at least a determined part of the environment where at least one vehicle of interest is located. Thus, the detected radar information describes the determined part of the environment and thus describes at least one vehicle of interest, i.e., at least one second vehicle. In particular, only the radar information from the determined part is detected and considered for determining the three-dimensional point cloud. In other words, the method includes a pre-scan to determine the field of view required for the radar system by identifying the part of the environment where there are vehicles of interest. Then the radar system is adjusted to the required field of view. In this way, the environment described by the radar information can be adjusted according to the situation of the first vehicle.

[0033] For example, if the radar system consists of radar devices distributed around the vehicle, some of these radar devices can be selected to detect radar information, while other radar devices may not be able to describe the vehicle of interest and thus may not be able to describe at least one second vehicle, so they may not contribute to the detection of radar information. These other radar devices may be suspended, or their radar information may remain unconsidered. Looking from the driving direction, the part of the environment containing the vehicle of interest is preferably located in the front of the vehicle. Then, for example, the radar information detected by the side and / or rear radar devices of the first vehicle may remain unconsidered. Thus, the pre-scan can reduce the amount of radar information that must be collected and considered for determining the three-dimensional point cloud and thus the movement information. This further reduces the time required to execute the method.

[0034] In addition, the radar system can adjust the detection range of the radar system according to the pre-scan and the vehicle of interest. This adjustment can select the maximum range, azimuth angle, and / or elevation angle of the radar system so that the radar system covers the entire determined part of the environment.

[0035] Another embodiment includes: at least one fiber optic cable connects the central control device of the radar system and the individual radar devices at least segmentally. At least one fiber optic cable enables the transmission of optically encoded data and / or information inside the radar system. Optically encoded data, such as control instructions for the radar devices and / or detected radar information, can be coupled into at least one fiber optic cable and transmitted through at least one fiber optic cable. In particular, all internal communications between each radar device and the central control device pass through the fiber optic cable, especially through multiple fiber optic cables. This clarifies how to achieve the optical transmission of data in a reliable manner.

[0036] Another embodiment includes: The central control device includes an optical emission unit. The optical emission unit provides optical coding control instructions for the corresponding radar device. It can include at least one control instruction for each of a plurality of radar devices. These control instructions can be different from each other or the same. The optical emission unit couples the optical coding control instructions into at least one fiber optic cable that connects the central control device and the radar device for which the control instructions have been determined. The corresponding radar device includes an optical receiving unit that receives the optical coding control instructions and converts them into electrical coding control instructions. The corresponding radar device emits electromagnetic waves according to the electrical coding control instructions coded by the optical receiving unit. For example, the control instructions that are first transmitted optically and then converted into electrical coding control instructions include frequency, beam size, beam direction, and / or other settings of the electromagnetic waves that the transmitting antenna or the transmitting and receiving antenna of the radar device should transmit. In this way, each of the plurality of radar devices can quickly receive and execute the control instructions.

[0037] Preferably, each radar device includes only one transmitting antenna, so that control instructions can be issued to only this one transmitting antenna in the above-described manner. The transmitting antenna can be a transmitting and receiving antenna. However, the radar device can also consist of a plurality of transmitting antennas and / or transmitting and receiving antennas. In this case, the control instructions will be provided to each antenna individually and / or as combined control instructions.

[0038] Another embodiment includes: The corresponding radar device includes an optical modulation unit. The optical modulation unit converts one or more received echoes into optically coded echo information and couples it into at least one fiber optic cable. When the emitted electromagnetic waves are reflected by an object in the environment, corresponding echoes are generated, where the object refers to at least one second vehicle, in particular at least one point on the surface of the second vehicle. Therefore, the echoes describe the second vehicle. The received echoes are converted into optically coded echo information and transmitted through the fiber optic cable to the central control device. The central control device includes an optical receiving unit and an evaluation unit. The optical receiving unit receives the optically coded echo information from the fiber optic cable, and the evaluation unit evaluates the optically coded echoes and outputs the resulting radar information. This means that the radar information used in this method is first transmitted in the form of optically coded information and then converted back into data suitable for further processing by the central control device. This explains how optical transmission of data is carried out within the radar system to reduce the transmission time of the radar system.

[0039] Another embodiment includes: modulating the control instruction at a predetermined optical carrier frequency to generate an optically encoded control instruction. In particular, the control instruction is modulated with a predetermined fraction of the transmitted electromagnetic wave frequency. Additionally, the optically encoded echo information is generated by modulating the received echo at a predetermined optical carrier frequency. Specifically, it is modulated with a predetermined fraction of the received echo frequency. In a preferred example, the fraction is 1 / 8. The above describes how to achieve the conversion between optically encoded data and electronically encoded data in the sense of the present invention.

[0040] For use cases or usage situations that may occur during the process of this method and are not explicitly described herein, error messages and / or user feedback requests may be provided and / or output. Additionally, default settings and / or predetermined initial states may also be set according to this method.

[0041] The algorithm in the sense of the present invention may also be referred to as a model or process.

[0042] Another aspect of the present invention relates to a radar system for a vehicle. The radar system includes a plurality of radar devices and a central control device. The radar system is configured to perform the above method. It performs the above method.

[0043] In a preferred embodiment, the radar system of the present invention may be the radar system described in Document DE 10 2017 221 257 A1. The features that have been described can be regarded as embodiments of the method and / or radar system of the present invention.

[0044] Another aspect of the present invention relates to a vehicle equipped with the above radar system. The vehicle is preferably a motor vehicle, such as a passenger car, a truck, a bus, a motorcycle, and / or a moped.

[0045] A preferred embodiment of the vehicle of the present invention includes: the radar system includes a plurality of radar devices that are spatially distributed around the entire vehicle. In particular, from the height direction, length direction, and / or width direction of the vehicle, the plurality of radar devices are located at different positions. Therefore, the radar information can detect a 360-degree point cloud of the entire environment of the vehicle.

[0046] The central control device may be a processor unit. It may include at least one microprocessor, microcontroller, FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), and / or DSP (Digital Signal Processor). Additionally, it may also include program code. The program code may be stored in the data memory of the central control device.

[0047] The embodiments related to the method, whether alone or in combination with each other, are correspondingly applicable to the radar device and vehicle of the present invention when applicable. The present invention includes the combination of the described embodiments. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0048] Exemplary embodiments of the present invention are described below. It is shown that:

[0049] Figure 1 A schematic diagram showing a vehicle with a radar system

[0050] Figure 2 A schematic diagram showing a first vehicle behind two second vehicles

[0051] Figure 3 A schematic diagram showing a point cloud for a second vehicle

[0052] Figure 4 A schematic diagram showing the determination of the relationship between point clouds

[0053] Figure 5 A schematic diagram showing the steps of a method for providing motion information about at least one second vehicle by a first vehicle, and

[0054] Figure 6 A schematic diagram showing a radar system for a vehicle Detailed implementation manners

[0055] The implementation manners introduced below are the preferred implementation manners of the present invention. In the embodiments of the present invention, the components described respectively represent the various features of the present invention. These features should be considered independently, and they also independently further constitute the present invention. Therefore, they should also be regarded as a part of the present invention, which can be separate or in combinations other than those shown in the figures. In addition, other features of the present invention can also supplement the described embodiments.

[0056] In the figures, the same components are labeled with the same reference signs.

[0057] Figure 1 The first vehicle 1 is shown as viewed from different angles, thereby showing the front, rear, and sides of the first vehicle. The first vehicle 1 includes a radar system 2. The radar system includes a plurality of radar devices 3. The radar devices 3 are preferably spatially distributed around the first vehicle 1. For example, when viewed from the height direction (z-direction), longitudinal direction (x-direction), and / or width direction (y-direction) of the first vehicle 1, the radar devices 3 are located at different positions. For example, each radar device 3 can be located on the A-pillar, B-pillar, C-pillar, or D-pillar of the first vehicle 1. In particular, at least some of the radar devices 3 can be located on the bumper of the first vehicle 1 and / or the bottom area of the windshield and / or rear window of the first vehicle 1. In addition, at least some of the radar devices 3 can be located on the roof of the first vehicle 1. The schematic positions of the respective radar devices 3 are only exemplary. The number of radar devices 3 can be more, less, and / or arranged in other ways.

[0058] The radar system 2 includes a central control device 4. For example, the central control device 4 can provide control instructions for each radar device 3 of the first vehicle 1 or execute processing tasks.

[0059] Figure 2 Shows a situation where the first vehicle 1 is driving on the road. The first vehicle 1 includes a radar system 2, the front part of which at least includes radar devices 3. The radar system 2 is configured to detect radar information 16 (see Figure 5 the reference numeral 16 in the figures), which information at least describes a part of the environment 6 of the first vehicle 1. At least one second vehicle 5 is located in the environment 6. Here, there is a passenger car as the second vehicle 5, and there is also a truck as the second vehicle 5. The forward coverage area 7 of the radar system 2 is also outlined. For one of the second vehicles 5, a direction arrow 8 is drawn, indicating the moving direction of the second vehicle 5. Here, the moving directions of all the vehicles 1, 5 are the same.

[0060] Figure 3 Shows that when detecting a single second vehicle 5, preferably in a manner capable of determining a three-dimensional point cloud 9 for displaying at least the contour of the second vehicle 5. Each point cloud 9 consists of a plurality of individual points 10. Here, only the points 10 within the coverage area 7 of the radar system 2 can be determined.

[0061] Figure 4 Shows the main idea of the present invention. Its main idea is to determine the relationship between individual points 10 in the point clouds 9 collected at different time points. For example, a plurality of first points 11 determined for a first time point are schematically shown. In addition, a plurality of second points 12 are also drawn, which points are determined for a second time point different from the first time point. Therefore, Figure 4 Shows two point clouds 9, respectively describing the second vehicle 5 at specific time points.

[0062] Figure 4 Shows the trailer speed direction 14 of the trailer of the second vehicle 5, where the second vehicle is a truck with a trailer. In addition, the truck speed direction 15 is also drawn in the figure, describing the moving direction of the front part of the truck as the second vehicle 5. The expected movement of the second vehicle is drawn with the direction arrow 8. In addition, a point speed direction 13 is drawn for the time point. The corresponding first point speed direction 13 shows the speed direction of the corresponding first point 11, and the corresponding second point speed direction 13 shows the speed direction of the corresponding second point 12.

[0063] Figure 5Shows method steps for providing motion information 20 describing at least one second vehicle 5. This method is executed by a first vehicle 1, and more specifically, by a radar system 2 of the first vehicle 1. The method includes: In step S1, radar information 16 is detected at at least two consecutive time points. The radar information 16 describes at least a part of the environment 6 of the first vehicle 1, where at least one second vehicle 5 is located in this part of the environment 6. Consecutive time points can be referred to as the first time point, the second time point, the third time point, etc. The radar system 2 includes a plurality of radar devices 3. For example, in Figure 5 three radar devices 3 are schematically shown. More radar devices 3 are also feasible. The more radar devices 3 there are, the higher the resolution of the radar information 16 can be.

[0064] Step S2 includes: determining a three-dimensional point cloud 9 at each time point by applying a point cloud determination algorithm 17 to the detected radar information 16. The corresponding point cloud 9 describes at least one second vehicle 5. Here, for example, two point clouds 9 as shown in Figure 4 are determined, namely a first point cloud 9 including a first point 11 and a second point cloud 9 including a second point 12.

[0065] Step S3 may include determining relationship information 18, which describes the translational and rotational relationships between the point clouds 9 at consecutive time points. The relationship information 18 can be determined by applying a relationship determination algorithm 19 to the three-dimensional point cloud 9 determined in step S2. More specifically, applying the relationship determination algorithm 19 may include matching individual points 10 of consecutive point clouds 9 and performing point registration, determining a translation vector t(x, y, z) and a rotation matrix R, both of which describe the relationship of the second vehicle 5 at the first time point and the second time point.

[0066] Step S4 may include: determining motion information 20, which describes the motion of at least one second vehicle 5. The motion information 20 can be determined by applying a motion determination algorithm 21 to the determined relationship information 18. More specifically, the motion information 20 can at least describe the yaw angle, roll angle, and / or pitch angle of at least one second vehicle 5. As an alternative or supplement, it can describe at least the yaw rate, roll rate, or pitch rate of at least one second vehicle 5. Additionally, the motion information 20 can also describe the translational speed of the second vehicle 5, especially its translational speed vector, which shows the speeds in the x, y, and z directions. As an alternative or supplement, the motion information 20 can at least describe the position and orientation of the second vehicle 5 relative to the first vehicle 1. In this case, it describes the pose of the second vehicle 5.

[0067] Step S5 may include: providing the determined motion information 20. In a preferred embodiment, it is provided to a function 23 of the first vehicle 1, which can be a driver assistance system.

[0068] Step S6 may include: Function 23 receives the provided motion information 20. Function 23 may determine at least one control instruction 24 for the first vehicle 1 by applying an instruction determination algorithm 25 to the received motion information 20. The control instruction 24 is particularly designed for the drive system, braking system, and / or steering system of the first vehicle 1. In step S7, function 23 may execute the determined control instruction 24.

[0069] As an alternative or addition, function 23 may receive the provided motion information 20 and may use this motion information to verify whether the determined control instruction 26 for the first vehicle 1 is executable. This may be achieved by applying a verification algorithm 27 to the received motion information 20 in step S8. Here, the determined control instruction 26 is particularly applicable to the drive system, braking system, and / or steering system of the first vehicle 1. In step S9, if the determined control instruction 26 is executable, function 23 executes the determined control instruction 26. The verification algorithm 27 is applied here to the received motion information 20 and the determined control instruction 26. If it is found in step S8 that the determined control instruction 26 is not executable, the method may be terminated 28.

[0070] The radar system 2 may pre-scan the environment 6 of the first vehicle 1 to determine in which part of the environment 6 at least one vehicle of interest is located. Then, the field of view of the radar system 2 may be adjusted so that it covers at least the determined part of the environment 6, so that the detected radar information 16 describes at least one vehicle of interest as at least one second vehicle 5. The pre-scan may be performed before step S1. The field of view here is Figure 2 and Figure 3 the coverage area 7 schematically shown in

[0071] Figure 5 shows the radar system 2 in more detail. Each of the plurality of radar devices 3 includes at least one transmitting and / or receiving antenna 30 and a control unit 31. The control unit 31 is preferably a chip for controlling at least one antenna 30, etc. In a preferred embodiment, the control unit 31 is an electro-photonic co-integrated chip (EPIC). [[ID=1,7]]

[0072] The radar system 2 uses optical transmission technology to obtain radar information 16 for data and / or information transmission between the individual radar devices 3 within the radar system 2 and the central control device 4 of the radar system 2. Here, all data transmissions based on optical transmission technology, as well as optically encoded data connections and / or transmissions, are outlined by dashed lines 32. All electronically encoded data transmissions via electronic channels are outlined by solid lines 33. The components outlined by dashed lines are optical components, while the components outlined by solid lines are electronic components.

[0073] At least one glass fiber 34 can be connected to the central control device 4 and each radar device 3 at least segmentally, and data and / or information transmission inside the radar system can be achieved through optical transmission technology.

[0074] The central control device 4 can include an optical transmission unit 35, which can provide an optically encoded control instruction for the corresponding radar device 3 and couple it into at least one glass fiber 34 as an optically encoded control instruction. The corresponding radar device 3 can include an optical reception unit 36, which can receive the optically encoded control instruction and convert it into an electronically encoded control instruction. According to the electronically encoded control instruction, the corresponding radar device 3 can emit electromagnetic waves in the environment 6 of the first vehicle 1 in accordance with the electronically encoded control instruction.

[0075] The corresponding radar device 3 can include an optical modulation unit 37, which can convert the echo received when the electromagnetic wave is reflected by an object (such as at least one second vehicle 5) in the environment 6 into optically encoded echo information. The optically encoded echo information can be coupled into at least one glass fiber 34. The central control device 4 can include an optical reception unit 51 and an evaluation unit 50. The optical reception unit 51 can receive the optically encoded echo information, and the evaluation unit 50 can evaluate it and output the radar information 11 obtained therefrom. Subsequently, this is the detected radar information 11.

[0076] Figure 5 The various components that perform the conversion and evaluation steps are shown in detail. The electronic components include a control interface 38, an optional arbitrary waveform generator (AWG) 39 for laser modulation, a digital interface 40 (especially for an analog-to-digital converter (ADC)), and / or a low level signal processing unit 41 for performing a fast Fourier transform. In addition, the evaluation unit 36 can at least include a computing unit, especially a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), and / or a personal computer (PC) interface.

[0077] The optical components can be an optional feedback loop / control unit 42, a laser and / or interference radiation source module 43, a gigahertz frequency synthesis module 44, an optical control module 45, an optical switch 46, and / or an optical detection / homodyne / heterodyne detection unit 47, including phase and / or length measurement. In addition, Figure 5 An electronic output channel 48 and an electronic feedback channel 49 connected to the control unit 31 are shown.

[0078] Optical coding of control commands can be created by modulating the control commands at a predetermined optical carrier frequency, in particular by using a predetermined fraction of the frequency of the emitted electromagnetic wave, also referred to as a partial. As an alternative or in addition, optical coding echo information can be obtained by modulating the received echo at a predetermined optical carrier frequency, in particular by using a predetermined fraction of the received echo frequency.

[0079] The central control device 4 can generate an optical carrier signal. This signal is fed into the gigahertz frequency synthesis module 44, and the synthesized gigahertz signal is transmitted through the fiber optic 34 within the spectral range to the control unit 31 (EPIC chip), for example, transmitted as a 77 gigahertz signal. Signal detection is carried out in the reverse direction. All data is processed in the central control device 4.

[0080] In summary, the present invention shows tracking based on yaw angle and attitude detection for the first vehicle 1. For example, reliable detection and monitoring of lane guidance for dynamic objects within the vehicle's field of view can be carried out.

[0081] The fundamental problems are:

[0082] i. Reliable monitoring of the driving behavior of vehicles 1, 5

[0083] ii. Automatically adjusting the guidance of the ego vehicle according to the monitored driving behavior of the surrounding vehicle 5.

[0084] The methods adopted are as follows:

[0085] i. Using miniaturized, photonically co-integrated radar chips in a coherently distributed sparse array, which is integrally incorporated into the first vehicle 1 over a large area (radar system 2);

[0086] ii. Online adjusting the unobstructed field of view of the array and continuously expanding the field of view during driving to detect the environment required for maneuvering;

[0087] iii. Registering the continuous radar point cloud to obtain the yaw angle, roll angle, pitch angle, and their current attitude

[0088] iv. Predicting the possible driving actions of the detected vehicle 5 to protect the safety of the first vehicle 1.

[0089] The advantages of the present invention are: cost savings; improved comfort; accident prevention; and improved reliability, unaffected by weather conditions.

[0090] Perceiving the surrounding environment (Environment 6) as safely as possible is crucial for autonomous driving. The surrounding environment can be detected by sensors such as radar, lidar, and cameras. It is particularly important to perform a full 360-degree three-dimensional detection of Environment 6 in order to detect all static and dynamic objects. In past research projects, lidar has played a key role, especially in redundant and robust environment detection, because such sensors can accurately measure distances in environment detection and can also be used for classification. However, such sensors are costly and complex to install. Especially for 360-degree three-dimensional environment detection, because many smaller individual sensors (usually using many individual light sources and detector elements) or large sensors need to be installed to ensure this goal. In addition, such lidar systems are vulnerable to weather such as rain, fog, or direct sunlight.

[0091] Radar sensors have been used in the automotive field for many years and can provide reliable and fail-safe data under any weather conditions. Even under low visibility conditions such as rain, fog, snow, dust, and darkness, it hardly affects its sensing reliability. However, their resolution is still limited so far. The standard radar resolution currently in use is about 2 degrees. To meet the requirements of Levels 4 and 5 of autonomous driving with safety driving functions, radar sensors must provide high-resolution three-dimensional images in the range of 0.1 degree and below and be highly insensitive to interference from the surrounding environment. Traditional radar technology cannot achieve this goal because the resolution of such systems is too low.

[0092] Currently, the photon radar system 2 developed to improve resolution integrates electronic and photon components in a single semiconductor. The generation of frequency-modulated continuous wave (FMCW) signals, as well as the entire signal processing and evaluation, are completed by a central station (central control device 4). Each transmitter and receiver module (radar device 3) contains an electro-photon co-integrated chip (the so-called "EPIC chip") as the control unit 31. The co-integration uses silicon photonics technology. In this way, photon components, high-frequency electronic components, and digital electronic components can be monolithically integrated on a single chip ("electro-photon co-integration"). The technological innovation of this system lies in the transmission of gigahertz signals through an optical carrier signal in the terahertz frequency range. The central station (central control device 4) generates the optical carrier frequency (terahertz). The signal with a radar frequency that is 1 / 8 of the frequency to be transmitted is modulated onto this frequency and sent to the antenna chip through an optical fiber (fiber optic 34). Frequency multiplication is performed on these chips so that the antenna chip can emit radar radiation. Signal detection is carried out in the reverse direction. All data are processed by the central control device 4.

[0093] By adopting the principle of co-integration of electronics and photonics in a chip, using the silicon-on-insulator region for photonic components and the bulk silicon region for electronic circuits, high signal quality with low parasitic interference can be achieved, especially in the case of high data rates. The connection between the radio frequency (RF) circuit (including frequency multiplier) of the radar antenna 30 and the optical transceiver does not require additional wires or flip-chip bonding. In addition, the chip can be optically and electrically tested at the wafer level, thus enabling high yield in further module manufacturing. With this technology, extremely compact form factors can be achieved, so it is very suitable for applying silicon photonics-based optical technology in the automotive industry.

[0094] The obstacle to the productive application of the glass fiber 34 lies in the lack of scalability in the existing technology. The highly integrated production technology of the electro-photonic integrated circuit makes such large-scale scalability possible. Therefore, the cost of the assembly technology is greatly reduced, and the cost structure is more efficient. Based on the development of data center solutions, an integrated library of electronic and photonic components for high-bandwidth data transmission can be obtained.

[0095] The method of the present invention includes:

[0096] 1. The fully coherent radar device 3 is distributed three-dimensionally and 360 degrees around the first vehicle 1.

[0097] 2. Detect the environment 7 through the radar system 2.

[0098] 3. Determine the field of view and determine the field of view required for the maneuver.

[0099] 4. Calculate the three-dimensional point cloud 9 from the measured distance, azimuth angle, and elevation angle (i.e., based on the radar information 16).

[0100] 5. Detect two consecutive frames (time points).

[0101] 6. Perform point matching between consecutive frames (time points) using the "nearest neighbor" or other similarity measurement methods

[0102] a. : Generate a subset of associable points from the first frame (first time point)

[0103] b. : Generate a subset of associable points from the second frame (second time point)

[0104] 7. Apply a point registration method, such as the iterative closest point (ICP), to obtain the translation t and rotation R, so as to correlate the two point clouds 9 with each other:

[0105]

[0106] And

[0107]

[0108] R and t are obtained by minimizing the following cost function:

[0109]

[0110] in : the three-dimensional coordinates of point (i) in the first frame (first time point); and : The three-dimensional coordinates of point (j) in the second frame (second time point).

[0111] 8. Derive the yaw angle, roll angle, and pitch angle based on the rotation matrix R:

[0112]

[0113] The yaw angle , roll angle , and the pitch angle .

[0114] 9. Calculate the yaw rate, roll rate, and pitch rate:

[0115] a. Yaw rate

[0116] b. Roll angular rate

[0117] c. Pitch rate

[0118] 10. Calculate the translation velocity vector (v x , v y , v z ):

[0119] a.

[0120] b.

[0121] c.

[0122] 11. Determine the current posture ,in

[0123] 12. Detect the environment.

[0124] 13. Determine feasible driving maneuvers.

[0125] 14. Transmit data to advanced driver assistance functions 23.

[0126] List of Reference Numerals

[0127] 1 First vehicle

[0128] 2 Radar system

[0129] 3 Radar device

[0130] 4 Central control device

[0131] 5 Second vehicle

[0132] 6 Environment

[0133] 7 Coverage area

[0134] 8 Direction arrow

[0135] 9 Point cloud

[0136] 10 Point

[0137] 11 First point

[0138] 12 Second point

[0139] 13 Point velocity direction

[0140] 14 Trailer velocity direction

[0141] 15 Truck velocity direction

[0142] 16 Radar information

[0143] 17 Point cloud determination algorithm

[0144] 18 Relationship information

[0145] 19 Relationship determination algorithm

[0146] 20 Motion information

[0147] 21 Motion determination algorithm

[0148] 23 Function

[0149] 24 Control instruction

[0150] 25 Instruction determination algorithm

[0151] 26 Determined control instruction

[0152] 27 Verification algorithm

[0153] 28 End

[0154] 30 Antenna

[0155] 31 Control unit

[0156] 32 Dashed line

[0157] 33 Solid line

[0158] 34 Fiberglass

[0159] 35 Optical emission unit

[0160] 36 Optical receiving unit

[0161] 37 Optical modulation unit

[0162] 38 Control interface

[0163] 39 Optional arbitrary waveform generator

[0164] 40 Digital interface

[0165] 41 Low-level flag processing unit

[0166] 42 Feedback loop / control unit

[0167] 43 Laser and / or interference radiation source module

[0168] 44 GHz frequency synthesis module

[0169] 45 Optical control module

[0170] 46 Optical switch

[0171] 47 Optical detection / homodyne / heterodyne detection unit

[0172] 48 Electronic output channel

[0173] 49 Electronic feedback channel

[0174] 50 Evaluation unit

[0175] 51 Optical receiving unit

[0176] Steps S1 - S9

Claims

1. A method for providing motion information (20) about at least one second vehicle (5) by a first vehicle (1), comprising: - Detecting radar information (16) at at least two consecutive time points by a radar system (2) of the first vehicle (1) having a plurality of radar devices (3), the radar information describing at least a part of the environment (6) of the first vehicle (1), and at least one second vehicle (5) being located in this part of the environment; - Determining a three-dimensional point cloud (9) for each time point by applying a point cloud determination algorithm (17) to the detected radar information (16), wherein the corresponding point cloud (9) describes at least one second vehicle (5); - Determining relationship information (18) by applying a relationship determination algorithm (19) to the three-dimensional point cloud (9), the relationship information describing the translational and rotational relationships between the point clouds (9) at consecutive time points; - Determining motion information (20) describing the motion of at least one second vehicle (5) by applying a motion determination algorithm (21) to the determined relationship information (18); and - Providing the determined motion information (20); wherein the radar system (2) detects the radar information (16) in such a way that data and / or information transmission within the radar system is performed using at least partially optical transmission technology between a single radar device (3) of the radar system (2) and a central control device (4).

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein A function (23) of the first vehicle (1) receives the provided motion information (20), determines at least one control instruction (24) for the first vehicle (1), in particular a control instruction for the driving system, braking system, and / or steering system of the first vehicle (1), by applying an instruction determination algorithm (25) to the received motion information (20), and executes the determined control instruction (24).

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein A function (23) of the first vehicle (1) receives the provided motion information (20), verifies whether the already determined control instruction (26) for the first vehicle (1), in particular a control instruction for the driving system, braking system, and / or steering system of the first vehicle (1), is executable by applying a verification algorithm (27) to the received motion information (20) and the already determined control instruction (26), and only executes the determined control instruction (26) if it is executable.

4. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein, The motion information (20) describes at least the yaw angle, roll angle, and / or pitch angle of at least one second vehicle (5).

5. The method according to any one of the above claims, wherein, The motion information (20) describes at least the yaw rate, roll rate, and / or pitch rate of at least one second vehicle (5).

6. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein, The motion information (20) describes at least the translational speed of at least one second vehicle (5), in particular the translational speed vector.

7. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein, The motion information (20) describes at least the position and / or orientation of at least one second vehicle (5) relative to the first vehicle (1).

8. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein, Applying the relationship determination algorithm to the three-dimensional point cloud includes matching individual points of consecutive point clouds (9) and performing point registration to determine a translation vector and a rotation matrix to describe the relationship.

9. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein, The radar system (2) performs a pre-scan of the environment (6) of the first vehicle (1) to determine in which part of the environment (6) at least one vehicle of interest is located, and adjusts the field of view of the radar system (2) such that the field of view covers at least the determined part of the environment (6), so that the detected radar information (16) describes at least one vehicle of interest as at least one second vehicle (5).

10. The method according to any one of the above claims, wherein At least one fiberglass (34) is at least sectionally connected to the central control device (4) and the individual radar devices (3), and enables data and / or information transmission within the radar system.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein, The central control device (4) includes an optical transmission unit (35) which provides optical encoded control instructions for the respective radar device (3) and couples the optical encoded control instructions to at least one fiberglass (34), wherein the respective radar device (3) includes an optical reception unit (36) for receiving the optical encoded control instructions and converting them into electrical encoded control instructions, so that the respective radar device (3) transmits electromagnetic waves according to the electrical encoded control instructions.

12. The method according to claim 10 or 11, wherein, The respective radar device (3) includes an optical modulation unit (37) which converts the received echo into optical encoded echo information and couples it to at least one fiberglass (34), wherein the central control device (4) includes an optical reception unit (51) and an evaluation unit (50), wherein the optical reception unit (51) receives the optical encoded echo information, and the evaluation unit (5) evaluates it and outputs the resulting radar information (11).

13. A radar system (2) for a vehicle (1, 5), comprising a plurality of radar devices (3) and a central control device (4), wherein, The radar system (2) is designed to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 12 above.

14. A vehicle (1, 5) comprising a radar system (2) according to claim 13.

15. The vehicle (1, 5) according to claim 14, wherein, The radar system (2) includes a plurality of radar devices (3) spatially distributed around the entire vehicle (1, 5).

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