Distributed 4D millimeter wave radar, signal processing method thereof, signal processing equipment and computer readable storage medium

Abstract

The invention relates to a distributed 4D vehicle-mounted millimeter wave radar, a signal processing method thereof, signal processing equipment and a computer readable storage medium. The 4D vehicle-mounted millimeter wave radar comprises a main radar and at least one sub radio frequency sensor. The main radar comprises a first radio frequency front end, a first conversion chip and a processor unit, and the processor unit is provided with an MIPI CSI-2 receiving interface and can directly receive a first data signal of the first radio frequency front end; the output end of the first conversion chip is connected to the receiving interface and is used for converting the GMSL format data into an MIPI CSI-2 format; the sub radio frequency sensor comprises a second radio frequency front end and a second conversion chip, the input end of the second conversion chip is connected with the second radio frequency front end and used for converting MIPI CSI-2 format data into GMSL format data, and the output end of the second conversion chip is connected to the input end of the first conversion chip through a communication cable. According to the invention, 4D detection full coverage, low-delay transmission and hardware cost optimization can be realized.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of vehicle-mounted environmental perception technology, and in particular to a distributed 4D millimeter-wave radar and its signal processing method, signal processing device and computer-readable storage medium. Background Technology

[0002] With the continuous improvement of automotive intelligence, automotive millimeter-wave radar, as a core environmental perception device, has been widely used in critical safety scenarios such as adaptive cruise control, blind spot detection, lane change assist, collision warning, and automatic braking. Compared with traditional 2D and 3D millimeter-wave radar, 4D automotive millimeter-wave radar adds height dimension detection capability, which can effectively distinguish pedestrians, vehicles, and road signs, curbs, and other targets, greatly improving the accuracy of environmental perception and becoming a core component to ensure driving safety.

[0003] However, existing 4D vehicle-mounted millimeter-wave radar systems still have the following technical shortcomings that urgently need to be addressed: Blind spot problem: The detection range of a traditional single 4D vehicle millimeter-wave radar is a conical field of view. Due to the limitation of the installation position (such as the front and rear of the vehicle), it cannot cover the entire 360° area of ​​the vehicle body. Blind spots are easily formed in the side and rear, the corners of the front of the vehicle, and the sides of the rear of the vehicle, which poses safety hazards in scenarios such as lane changing and reversing. Cost and synchronization challenges of multi-radar systems: To address the blind zone problem, some solutions deploy multiple independent 4D millimeter-wave radars. However, each radar requires a complete radio frequency front-end and processor unit, and the redundant hardware design leads to a significant increase in system cost. At the same time, the data processing of multiple radars is distributed across different processors and requires data interaction via a bus. This results in high data synchronization complexity and large synchronization errors, which cannot meet the real-time requirements of scenarios such as collision avoidance warning. Signal transmission delay and reliability issues: In another type of distributed millimeter-wave radar solution, the signal collected by the radar front end needs to be serialized into a serial signal of a specific format by a serializer, transmitted to the main processor, and then restored by a deserializer. This serialization-deserialization process will significantly increase the system delay, and signal loss is likely to occur during long-distance high-speed transmission, resulting in a decrease in data reliability. It is especially unsuitable for 4D radar scenarios with large data volume and latency sensitivity. Low data processing efficiency: Existing solutions lack a standardized fusion mechanism for multi-source radar data. Data collected by radars at different locations exhibits temporal and spatial perspective deviations, and data overlap or poor blind zone complementation results, leading to insufficient completeness and accuracy of environmental data for subsequent decision-making.

[0004] Therefore, there is an urgent need for a 4D vehicle-mounted millimeter-wave radar solution that can simultaneously solve problems such as blind spots, high costs, complex synchronization, large delays, and low data processing efficiency, in order to meet the high environmental perception requirements of intelligent vehicles. Summary of the Invention

[0005] To address the aforementioned problems in existing technologies, this invention proposes a distributed 4D millimeter-wave radar, its signal processing method, signal processing equipment, and computer-readable storage medium, which can achieve full 4D detection coverage, low-latency transmission, and optimized hardware costs.

[0006] Specifically, this invention proposes a distributed 4D vehicle-mounted millimeter-wave radar, comprising: A main radar includes a first radio frequency front-end, a first conversion chip, and a processor unit. The processor unit is configured with a first MIPI CSI-2 receiving interface and directly receives a first data signal acquired by the first radio frequency front-end through the MIPI CSI-2 receiving interface. The output of the first conversion chip is connected to the MIPI CSI-2 receiving interface, and the first conversion chip is used to convert GMSL format data into MIPI CSI-2 format data. At least one sub-RF sensor, the sub-RF sensor including a second RF front end and a second conversion chip, the input terminal of the second conversion chip is connected to the second RF front end to receive a second data signal acquired by the second RF front end, the second conversion chip is used to convert MIPI CSI-2 format data into GMSL format data, and the output terminal of the second conversion chip is connected to the input terminal of the first conversion chip through a communication cable.

[0007] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the second radio frequency front end includes a radio frequency transmitting unit, a radio frequency receiving unit, and an analog-to-digital converter. The radio frequency transmitting unit is used to transmit millimeter-wave signals, the radio frequency receiving unit is used to receive echo signals and process them to obtain analog signals, and the analog-to-digital converter is used to convert the analog signals into digital signals to generate the second data signal.

[0008] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the radio frequency receiving unit includes an amplifier, a mixer and a filter connected in sequence, which amplify, mix and filter the echo signal respectively.

[0009] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the communication cable is a coaxial cable, an Ethernet cable, or a Flexray cable.

[0010] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the main radar is arranged in the front area of ​​the vehicle body, and the at least one sub-radio frequency sensor is arranged in the side area and / or the rear area of ​​the vehicle body.

[0011] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the transmission delay of the first data signal is ≤3ms, and the transmission delay of the second data signal is ≤5ms.

[0012] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the processor unit includes a digital signal processor and a microcontroller unit. The digital signal processor performs noise reduction and target classification processing on the first data signal and the second data signal, and the microcontroller unit is used to perform data fusion on the signal processed by the digital signal processor.

[0013] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the main radar further includes a power management module, which supplies power to the sub-radio frequency sensor through the communication cable.

[0014] The present invention also provides a signal processing method applicable to the aforementioned 4D vehicle-mounted millimeter-wave radar, wherein the processor unit executes the signal processing method, including the following steps: The first data signal and the second data signal are received through the MIPI CSI-2 receiving interface; The first data signal and the second data signal are fused together. The results of the data fusion are sent to the vehicle's ECU.

[0015] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the data fusion includes the following steps: Based on the main radar clock, calibrate the time deviation of the second data information; Unify the parameters of sub-RF sensors located in different areas of the vehicle body to the vehicle body global coordinate system; Data deduplication is performed on the overlapping detection areas of the sub-RF sensors, and data supplementation is performed on the blind areas of the sub-RF sensors.

[0016] The present invention also provides a signal processing device for millimeter-wave radar, including a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, wherein the processor executes the computer program to implement the steps of the signal processing method described in any of the preceding claims.

[0017] The present invention also provides a computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, which, when executed by a processor, implements the steps of the signal processing method as described in any of the preceding claims.

[0018] This invention provides a distributed 4D millimeter-wave radar, its signal processing method, signal processing equipment, and computer-readable storage medium. Through a master-slave architecture of a main radar and sub-RF sensors, combined with direct data signal transmission via the MIPI CSI-2 interface, it achieves full 4D detection coverage, low-latency transmission, and optimized hardware costs.

[0019] It should be understood that the above general description and the following detailed description of the invention are exemplary and illustrative, and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as described in the claims. Attached Figure Description

[0020] The accompanying drawings are included to provide further explanation of the invention; they are incorporated into and constitute a part of this application. The drawings illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with this specification, serve to explain the principles of the invention. In the drawings: Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the structure of a 4D millimeter-wave radar according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0021] Figure 2 A flowchart of a signal processing method according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0022] Figure 3 A system block diagram of a signal processing device according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0023] The above figures include the following reference numerals: Millimeter-wave radar 100 Main Radar 110 First RF front-end 111 Processor unit 112 MIPI CSI-2 Receiver Interface 1121 First conversion chip 113 Sub-RF sensor 120 Second RF front end 121 Second conversion chip 122 Communication cable 130 Detailed Implementation

[0024] It should be noted that, unless otherwise specified, the embodiments and features described in this application can be combined with each other.

[0025] The technical solutions of the embodiments of this application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of this application, and not all embodiments. The following description of at least one exemplary embodiment is merely illustrative and is in no way intended to limit this application or its application or use. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of this application without creative effort are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0026] It should be noted that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to limit the exemplary embodiments according to this application. As used herein, the singular form is intended to include the plural form as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Furthermore, it should be understood that when the terms "comprising" and / or "including" are used in this specification, they indicate the presence of features, steps, operations, devices, components, and / or combinations thereof.

[0027] Unless otherwise specifically stated, the relative arrangement, numerical expressions, and values ​​of the components and steps described in these embodiments do not limit the scope of this application. It should also be understood that, for ease of description, the dimensions of the various parts shown in the drawings are not drawn to actual scale. Techniques, methods, and devices known to those skilled in the art may not be discussed in detail, but where appropriate, such techniques, methods, and devices should be considered part of the specification. In all examples shown and discussed herein, any specific values ​​should be interpreted as merely exemplary and not as limitations. Therefore, other examples of exemplary embodiments may have different values. It should be noted that similar reference numerals and letters in the following drawings denote similar items; therefore, once an item is defined in one drawing, it need not be further discussed in subsequent drawings.

[0028] In the description of this application, it should be understood that the orientation or positional relationship indicated by directional terms such as "front, back, up, down, left, right", "horizontal, vertical, horizontal" and "top, bottom" is usually based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings, and is only for the convenience of describing this application and simplifying the description. Unless otherwise stated, these directional terms do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as a limitation on the scope of protection of this application; the directional terms "inner" and "outer" refer to the inner and outer contours relative to the outline of each component itself.

[0029] Furthermore, it should be noted that the use of terms such as "first" and "second" to define components is merely for the purpose of distinguishing the corresponding components. Unless otherwise stated, these terms have no special meaning and therefore should not be construed as limiting the scope of protection of this application. In addition, although the terminology used in this application is selected from commonly known and used terms, some terms mentioned in this application's specification may have been chosen by the applicant according to his or her judgment, and their detailed meanings are explained in the relevant sections of this description. Moreover, this application should be understood not only through the actual terms used, but also through the meaning implied by each term.

[0030] Figure 1A schematic diagram of a 4D millimeter-wave radar according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. As shown, the present invention provides a distributed 4D vehicle-mounted millimeter-wave radar 100, which aims to solve problems such as blind spots in single-radar detection, complexity in multi-radar synchronization, and transmission delay. The millimeter-wave radar 100 adopts an architecture of centralized processing by a main radar 110 combined with distributed sensing by sub-radio frequency sensors 120.

[0031] The main radar 110 serves as the centralized control and processing core, integrating a first radio frequency front-end 111, a first conversion chip 113, and a processor unit 112. The first radio frequency front-end 111 is responsible for acquiring millimeter-wave signals and generating a first data signal in MIPI CSI-2 format. The processor unit 112 is equipped with a MIPI CSI-2 receiving interface 1211, enabling direct reception of this first data signal and avoiding delay losses caused by signal conversion. The output of the first conversion chip 113 is connected to the aforementioned MIPI CSI-2 receiving interface 1211, and its function is to adapt the signal format after long-distance transmission. Since the sub-radio frequency sensor 120 and the main radar 110 may be installed at a considerable distance, the signal needs to be carried using the GMSL format, which is more suitable for long-distance transmission. The first conversion chip 113 can convert the received GMSL format data into MIPI CSI-2 format, ensuring compatibility with the processor unit's receiving interface 1211 and not affecting subsequent processing efficiency.

[0032] At least one sub-RF sensor 120 is used to compensate for the detection blind spots of the main radar 110. The sub-RF sensor 120 integrates a second RF front-end 121 and a second conversion chip 122. The second RF front-end 121 is responsible for acquiring millimeter-wave signals and generating a second data signal in MIPI CSI-2 format. The input of the second conversion chip 122 is connected to the second RF front-end 121. Considering that the GMSL format has advantages over MIPI CSI-2 in terms of strong anti-interference capability and low transmission loss, and is more suitable for long-distance wiring scenarios in vehicles, the second conversion chip 122 is used to convert the second data signal in MIPI CSI-2 format to GMSL format. The output of the second conversion chip 122 is connected to the input of the first conversion chip 113 through a communication cable. The communication cable further ensures the stable long-distance transmission of GMSL format signals, meets the complex electromagnetic environment and wiring requirements of vehicles, and ultimately achieves reliable reception and efficient centralized processing of multi-source 4D signals under long-distance transmission. The sub-RF sensor 120 does not require a separate processor to simplify hardware and reduce costs.

[0033] In some examples, the second RF front-end 121 is configured with an RF transmitting unit, an RF receiving unit, and an analog-to-digital converter. The RF transmitting unit is responsible for transmitting millimeter-wave detection signals, the RF receiving unit receives the echo signals reflected from the target and performs preliminary processing to form an analog signal, and the analog-to-digital converter converts the analog signal into a digital signal, thereby generating a second data signal in MIPI CSI-2 format.

[0034] Preferably, to improve the quality of the echo signal, the RF receiving unit is further provided with an amplifier, a mixer and a filter connected in sequence. The amplifier is used to enhance the strength of the weak echo signal, the mixer converts the signal to a frequency range suitable for processing, and the filter filters out vehicle electromagnetic interference and noise, providing an analog signal basis for subsequent analog-to-digital conversion.

[0035] In some examples, the communication cable 130 is selected from coaxial cable, Ethernet cable or Flexray cable. This selection is suitable for different installation distances, complex electromagnetic environments and vehicle vehicle requirements. It can not only ensure the stable transmission of MIPI CSI-2 signals, but also flexibly meet the wiring requirements of different scenarios such as passenger cars and commercial vehicles.

[0036] In some examples, the main radar 110 is located in the front area of ​​the vehicle body. Since the front is a key detection area for vehicle safety, it can prioritize the detection accuracy of the core forward scene. The sub-radio frequency sensor 120 is arranged in the side area and / or rear area of ​​the vehicle body to make up for the detection blind spot of the main radar 110 and achieve 360° full coverage of the vehicle body.

[0037] In some examples, to meet the usage needs of different areas, the transmission delay of the first data signal is controlled to ≤3ms, which is suitable for safety-critical scenarios with low latency requirements such as head collision avoidance warning and automatic braking; the transmission delay of the second data signal is ≤5ms, which meets the practical needs of scenarios such as side and rear blind spot detection and lane change assist, achieving a balance between performance and practicality.

[0038] In some examples, the processor unit 112 further includes a digital signal processor and a microcontroller unit. The digital signal processor performs noise reduction processing and target classification on the first and second data signals, effectively filtering out interference from the vehicle environment and initially distinguishing target types, thus improving data accuracy. The microcontroller unit performs data fusion on the signals processed by the digital signal processor, solving the problem of multi-source data synchronization through centralized processing, and providing the vehicle ECU with unified and complete environmental perception data.

[0039] In some examples, the main radar 110 also integrates a power management module. This power management module supplies power to the sub-RF sensor 120 via communication cable 130, eliminating the need for an additional independent power supply line, which simplifies the overall vehicle wiring harness layout and reduces installation costs and maintenance difficulty.

[0040] Figure 2 A flowchart of a signal processing method according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. As shown, the present invention also provides a signal processing method adapted to the aforementioned distributed 4D vehicle-mounted millimeter-wave radar 100, executed by the processor unit 112 of the main radar 110. Through a standardized process, it achieves efficient processing and reliable output of multi-source 4D signals, providing a basis for vehicle safety control. The signal processing method includes the following steps: First, the main radar 110 receives the first data signal and the second data signal transmitted by each sub-RF sensor 120 through the MIPI CSI-2 receiving interface 1211, ensuring that there is no additional conversion loss in the signal reception process and continuing the advantage of "direct transmission and low latency". Subsequently, data fusion processing is performed on the first and second data signals to resolve the temporal and spatial differences between the multi-source signals and form complete environmental perception data. Finally, the merged unified data is sent to the vehicle ECU, providing a direct and reliable input for the ECU to generate control commands.

[0041] In some examples, data fusion specifically includes the following steps: S1, based on the clock of the main radar 110, calibrate the time deviation of the second data signal. Because each sub-RF sensor 120 is distributed, the acquisition timing is prone to differences. After calibration, the timing consistency of multi-source data can be guaranteed, and synchronization errors can be avoided from affecting the decision accuracy. S2 unifies the detection parameters of the sub-RF sensors 120 in different areas of the vehicle body into the global coordinate system of the vehicle body, eliminates the spatial viewing angle deviation caused by different installation positions, and makes the data of each area integrable. S3 performs data deduplication on the overlapping detection areas of the sub-RF sensor 120 to avoid redundant data occupying processing resources. At the same time, it supplements the data in the blind areas of the sub-RF sensor 120 to ensure that the final output environmental data covers the entire 360° area of ​​the vehicle body without omission, giving full play to the coverage advantages of the distributed architecture.

[0042] Example 1: Deployment Scheme of 4D Vehicle-Mounted Millimeter-Wave Radar in Passenger Vehicles

[0043] 1. Hardware Configuration

[0044] Main radar: 1 unit, located at the front of the vehicle body, integrating a first radio frequency front-end, a first conversion chip and processor unit, a MIPI CSI-2 receiving interface and a power management module; the first radio frequency front-end has 4D millimeter-wave signal transceiver capability, and can collect four-dimensional information of targets within a 120° field of view in front of the vehicle; the output of the first conversion chip is connected to the MIPI CSI-2 receiving interface, which is used to convert the received GMSL format data into MIPI CSI-2 format data to meet the interface requirements of the processor unit; Sub-RF sensors: 3, respectively located in the housing of the left rearview mirror, the housing of the right rearview mirror, and the center of the rear bumper; each sub-RF sensor includes a second RF front-end and a second conversion chip, without an independent processor; the input of the second conversion chip is connected to the second RF front-end, used to convert MIPI CSI-2 format data to GMSL format data, and its output is connected to a coaxial cable; the field of view of the sub-sensors at the left and right rearview mirrors is 80°, covering the front and rear sides of the vehicle, and the field of view of the sub-sensor at the rear of the vehicle is 100°, covering the rear of the vehicle and the corners on both sides; Communication cables: Coaxial cables are used to connect the input end of the first conversion chip and the output end of the second conversion chip. The cable length between the main radar and each sub-RF sensor is 1.5 to 3m, and it is deployed in a hidden manner along the vehicle frame to ensure signal transmission stability without affecting the appearance of the vehicle.

[0045] 2. Workflow

[0046] Signal Acquisition and Transmission: The main radar's first radio frequency front-end transmits and receives millimeter-wave signals from the front of the vehicle. After processing, it generates a first data signal in MIPI CSI-2 format, which is transmitted to the processor unit via the MIPI CSI-2 receiving interface. The second radio frequency front-ends of each sub-radio frequency sensor transmit and receive millimeter-wave signals from their corresponding areas. The echo signals are amplified, mixed, and filtered, then converted into digital signals by an analog-to-digital converter, generating a second data signal in MIPI CSI-2 format. This second data signal is converted to GMSL format by a second conversion chip and transmitted to the main radar's first conversion chip via a coaxial cable. The first conversion chip restores the GMSL format data to MIPI CSI-2 format before transmitting it to the processor unit. The transmission delays are: 1.8ms for the first data signal, 3.2ms for the second data signals from the left and right rearview mirror sensors, and 4.5ms for the second data signal from the rear sub-radio frequency sensor 120, all meeting the preset requirements. Signal processing: The digital signal processor performs noise reduction processing on the first data signal and three second data signals. An adaptive filtering algorithm can be used to remove interference from vehicle electronic devices and multipath reflection noise. Then, a target classification algorithm is used to initially identify moving targets (vehicles, pedestrians) and stationary targets (curb, guardrails). The microcontroller unit calibrates the time deviation of the three second data signals (synchronization error 0.08ms) based on the main radar clock, unifies all data to the vehicle's global coordinate system, removes duplicate data from the overlapping detection areas of the sub-RF sensors of the left and right rearview mirrors and the main radar, and supplements the blind spots of the rear sub-RF sensors and side sub-RF sensors to form 360° full-area 4D environmental data. Data output: The fused full-area environmental data is sent to the vehicle ECU, which then performs control operations such as adaptive cruise speed adjustment, blind spot warning, and collision avoidance braking based on the data.

[0047] Figure 3 A system block diagram of a signal processing device according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. As shown, the signal processing device 500 may include an internal communication bus 301, a processor 302, a read-only memory (ROM) 303, a random access memory (RAM) 304, and a communication port 305. When applied to a personal computer, the signal processing device 300 may also include a hard disk 306. The internal communication bus 301 enables data communication between the components of the signal processing device 300. The processor 302 can make judgments and issue prompts. In some embodiments, the processor 302 may consist of one or more processors. The communication port 305 enables data communication between the signal processing device 300 and external devices. In some embodiments, the signal processing device 300 can send and receive information and data from a network through the communication port 305. The signal processing device 300 may also include different forms of program storage units and data storage units, such as the hard disk 306, the read-only memory (ROM) 303, and the random access memory (RAM) 304, capable of storing various data files used for computer processing and / or communication, as well as possible program instructions executed by the processor 302. Processor 302 executes these instructions to implement the main part of the method. The results processed by processor 302 are transmitted to the user equipment via communication port 305 and displayed on the user interface.

[0048] The above-described signal processing method can be implemented as a computer program, stored in the hard disk 306, and loaded into the processor 302 for execution to implement the signal processing method of this application.

[0049] The present invention also provides a computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, wherein the computer program, when executed by a processor, implements the steps of any of the aforementioned signal processing methods.

[0050] The specific implementation methods and technical effects of the signal processing equipment and computer-readable storage medium for millimeter-wave radar can be found in the embodiments of the distributed 4D millimeter-wave radar signal processing method provided by the present invention, and will not be repeated here.

[0051] The present invention provides a distributed 4D millimeter-wave radar, its signal processing method, signal processing device, and computer-readable storage medium, which have the following beneficial effects: 1. Full-area blind-spot detection: By distributing the main radar and sub-radio frequency sensors on the sides and rear of the vehicle, the field of view of a single radar is limited, enabling 360° full-area 4D environmental detection of the vehicle body, completely solving the blind spot problem of traditional solutions and improving driving safety; 2. Low latency and high reliability transmission: Direct transmission of MIPI CSI-2 format signals skips the serialization-deserialization intermediate stage. The delay of the first data signal is ≤3ms and the delay of the second data signal is ≤5ms, which greatly reduces system latency and avoids signal loss caused by intermediate conversion, thus improving the reliability of data transmission. 3. Cost and layout optimization: Only the main radar is equipped with a processor unit, and the sub-RF sensors do not require independent processors, which significantly reduces hardware costs; the power management module supplies power to the sub-sensors through communication cables, simplifying the wiring harness layout and reducing installation and maintenance costs. 4. Precise and efficient data processing: Through noise reduction and target classification processing by digital signal processors, as well as time calibration, spatial unification, deduplication and blind spot data fusion processes of microcontrollers, the accuracy and integrity of environmental data are ensured, providing reliable decision input for vehicle ECUs; 5. Strong adaptability: Supports multiple communication methods such as coaxial cable, Ethernet cable, and Flexray cable, and can be adapted to different models such as passenger cars and commercial vehicles to meet the needs of different safety level scenarios, and has broad industrial application value.

[0052] Those skilled in the art will further appreciate that the various illustrative logic blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or a combination of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability between hardware and software, the various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps are described above in a generalized manner in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends on the specific application and the design constraints imposed on the overall system. Those skilled in the art may implement the described functionality in different ways for each specific application, but such implementation decisions should not be construed as departing from the scope of the invention.

[0053] The various illustrative logic modules and circuits described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented or performed using a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in alternatives, it may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, such as a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors cooperating with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

[0054] The steps of the methods or algorithms described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of both. The software module may reside in RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, hard disk, removable disk, CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to a processor such that the processor can read and write information to / from the storage medium. In an alternative, the storage medium may be integrated into the processor. The processor and storage medium may reside in an ASIC. The ASIC may reside in a user terminal. In an alternative, the processor and storage medium may reside as discrete components in the user terminal.

[0055] In one or more exemplary embodiments, the described functionality may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software as a computer program product, the functionality may be stored or transmitted as one or more instructions or code on or through a computer-readable medium. A computer-readable medium includes both computer storage media and communication media, encompassing any medium that facilitates the transfer of a computer program from one location to another. A storage medium may be any available medium accessible to a computer. By way of example and not limitation, such a computer-readable medium may include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disc storage, disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and is accessible to a computer. Any connection is also legitimately referred to as a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of a medium. As used in this article, disk and disc include compact discs (CDs), laser discs, optical discs, digital multi-purpose discs (DVDs), floppy disks, and Blu-ray discs. Disks typically reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically using lasers. Combinations of these should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0056] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the exemplary embodiments described above without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, it is intended that this invention cover modifications and variations falling within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A distributed 4D vehicle-mounted millimeter-wave radar, comprising: A main radar includes a first radio frequency front-end, a first conversion chip, and a processor unit. The processor unit is configured with a first MIPI CSI-2 receiving interface and directly receives a first data signal acquired by the first radio frequency front-end through the MIPI CSI-2 receiving interface. The output of the first conversion chip is connected to the MIPI CSI-2 receiving interface, and the first conversion chip is used to convert GMSL format data into MIPI CSI-2 format data. At least one sub-RF sensor, the sub-RF sensor including a second RF front end and a second conversion chip, the input terminal of the second conversion chip is connected to the second RF front end to receive a second data signal acquired by the second RF front end, the second conversion chip is used to convert MIPI CSI-2 format data into GMSL format data, and the output terminal of the second conversion chip is connected to the input terminal of the first conversion chip through a communication cable.

2. The 4D vehicle-mounted millimeter-wave radar as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The second radio frequency front end includes a radio frequency transmitting unit, a radio frequency receiving unit, and an analog-to-digital converter. The radio frequency transmitting unit is used to transmit millimeter-wave signals, the radio frequency receiving unit is used to receive echo signals and process them to obtain analog signals, and the analog-to-digital converter is used to convert the analog signals into digital signals to generate the second data signal.

3. The 4D vehicle-mounted millimeter-wave radar as described in claim 2, characterized in that, The radio frequency receiving unit includes an amplifier, a mixer, and a filter connected in sequence, which amplify, mix, and filter the echo signal, respectively.

4. The 4D vehicle-mounted millimeter-wave radar as described in claim 2, characterized in that, The communication cable is a coaxial cable, an Ethernet cable, or a Flexray cable.

5. The 4D vehicle-mounted millimeter-wave radar as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The main radar is located in the front area of ​​the vehicle body, and the at least one sub-radio frequency sensor is located in the side area and / or the rear area of ​​the vehicle body.

6. The 4D vehicle-mounted millimeter-wave radar as described in claim 5, characterized in that, The transmission delay of the first data signal is ≤3ms, and the transmission delay of the second data signal is ≤5ms.

7. The 4D vehicle-mounted millimeter-wave radar as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The processor unit includes a digital signal processor and a microcontroller unit. The digital signal processor performs noise reduction and target classification processing on the first data signal and the second data signal. The microcontroller unit is used to perform data fusion on the signal processed by the digital signal processor.

8. The 4D vehicle-mounted millimeter-wave radar as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The main radar also includes a power management module, which supplies power to the sub-radio frequency sensor via the communication cable.

9. A signal processing method applicable to the 4D vehicle-mounted millimeter-wave radar as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The processor unit executes the signal processing method, including the following steps: The first data signal and the second data signal are received through the MIPI CSI-2 receiving interface; The first data signal and the second data signal are fused together. The results of the data fusion are sent to the vehicle's ECU.

10. The signal processing method as described in claim 9, characterized in that, The data fusion includes the following steps: Based on the main radar clock, calibrate the time deviation of the second data information; Unify the parameters of sub-RF sensors located in different areas of the vehicle body to the vehicle body global coordinate system; Data deduplication is performed on the overlapping detection areas of the sub-RF sensors, and data supplementation is performed on the blind areas of the sub-RF sensors.

11. A signal processing device for millimeter-wave radar, comprising a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, characterized in that, When the processor executes the computer program, it implements the steps of the signal processing method as claimed in any one of claims 9-10.

12. A computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, characterized in that, When the computer program is executed by the processor, it implements the steps of the signal processing method as described in any one of claims 9-10.

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