Vehicle-mounted radar system, working method thereof and vehicle

Abstract

The invention discloses a vehicle-mounted radar system, a working method thereof and a vehicle, and belongs to the technical field of radars. The vehicle-mounted radar system comprises a decision module used for determining a working mode and a signal emission mode of the vehicle-mounted radar system based on first data received by the vehicle-mounted radar system; the working modes comprise a communication mode, a radar mode and a radar communication integrated mode; the signal transmitting mode comprises a multi-input multi-output transmitting mode, a phased array transmitting mode and a multi-input multi-output and phased array mixed transmitting mode. According to the vehicle-mounted radar system, the working method of the vehicle-mounted radar system and the vehicle disclosed by the invention, by adopting a radar communication integrated MIMO phased array radar system architecture compatible with a hybrid system architecture in which three signal emission modes coexist, the modes can be switched through the decision result obtained by the decision module based on the first data received by the vehicle-mounted radar system, and the reliability of the vehicle-mounted radar system is improved. The system can better adapt to the complex environment change of a vehicle-mounted scene, and is higher in long-distance detection capability and communication capability.

Description

Vehicle-mounted radar system and its working method, vehicle Technical Field

[0001] This application belongs to the field of radar technology, and in particular relates to a vehicle-mounted radar system and its working method, as well as a vehicle. Background Technology

[0002] In related technologies, automotive millimeter-wave radar is one of the core sensors in advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). Automotive millimeter-wave radar can be used to achieve perception functions, detect target status information, or reconstruct the surrounding environment. Millimeter-wave radar has advantages such as being unaffected by weather and light, long testing range, and high testing accuracy. With the increasing demand for vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication, automotive millimeter-wave radar, due to its communication capabilities in the 76GHz to 81GHz operating frequency band, is also widely used for vehicle data communication.

[0003] Related technologies utilize dual reuse of vehicle-mounted millimeter-wave radar, enabling it to be used for both data communication and target detection, thus constructing an integrated radar-communication system. However, existing vehicle-mounted millimeter-wave radars in integrated radar-communication systems mostly operate in a single Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) mode, resulting in low long-range detection or communication capabilities, especially with severe performance degradation in adverse weather conditions. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This invention aims to at least solve one of the technical problems existing in the prior art. To this end, this invention proposes a vehicle-mounted radar system, its operating method, and a vehicle, which can improve the long-range detection and communication capabilities of an integrated radar and communication vehicle-mounted radar system.

[0005] In a first aspect, this application provides a vehicle-mounted radar system, which includes: a decision module; the decision module is used to determine the operating mode and signal transmission mode of the vehicle-mounted radar system based on first data received by the vehicle-mounted radar system; the operating mode is a communication mode, a radar mode, and a radar-communication integrated mode; the signal transmission mode includes a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) transmission mode, a phased array transmission mode, and a hybrid transmission mode that combines MIMO and phased array.

[0006] According to this application, the vehicle-mounted radar system adopts a novel MIMO phased array radar system architecture that integrates radar and communication. This system architecture is compatible with a hybrid system architecture that allows three signal transmission modes to coexist. It can switch between modes based on the decision results obtained by the decision module from the first data received by the vehicle-mounted radar system, better adapting to the complex environmental changes in vehicle scenarios. This breaks through the independent application framework of traditional vehicle-mounted radar's single system mode. It significantly outperforms traditional vehicle-mounted radar in terms of compatibility, all-scenario adaptability, and dynamic environment adaptive capabilities. This system architecture overcomes the limitations of traditional vehicle-mounted radar's single perception function, combining MIMO phased array technology to cope with complex and ever-changing driving environments (including severe weather, signal coverage blind spots, and field-of-view blind spots), improving radar perception and data communication performance in all scenarios. This provides safer protection for advanced driver assistance systems, enabling intelligent connected vehicles to have information interoperability in all scenarios and meeting the ever-increasing V2V communication needs in intelligent driving scenarios.

[0007] According to one embodiment of this application, an onboard radar system includes a transmitting array, a transmitting signal processing module, a receiving array, and a receiving signal processing module. The decision module is configured to generate a mode selection instruction based on the operating mode and signal transmission mode of the onboard radar system, and send the mode selection instruction to the transmitting signal processing module and the receiving signal processing module. The mode selection instruction is used to indicate the operating mode and signal transmission mode of the onboard radar system. The transmitting signal processing module is configured to process second data based on the mode selection instruction to generate a first target signal, and control the transmitting array to transmit the first target signal. The radar waveform of the first target signal corresponds to the signal transmission mode. The second data is determined according to the operating mode. The receiving signal processing module is configured to control the receiving array to receive the second target signal based on the mode selection instruction, and acquire the first data carried by the second target signal.

[0008] According to one embodiment of this application, the transmitting array includes multiple transmitting subarrays; each transmitting subarray includes multiple transmitting elements; when the signal transmission mode is the multiple-input multiple-output transmission mode, each transmitting element transmits independently; when the signal transmission mode is the phased array transmission mode, each transmitting element in each transmitting subarray transmits coherently, and each transmitting subarray transmits coherently; when the signal transmission mode is the hybrid transmission mode, each transmitting element in each transmitting subarray transmits coherently, and each transmitting subarray transmits independently.

[0009] According to one embodiment of this application, the receiving array includes multiple receiving subarrays; each receiving subarray includes multiple receiving elements; when the signal transmission mode is the multiple-input multiple-output transmission mode, each receiving element receives independently; when the signal transmission mode is the phased array transmission mode, each receiving element in each receiving subarray receives coherently, and each receiving subarray receives coherently; when the signal transmission mode is the hybrid transmission mode, each receiving element receives independently, or each receiving element in each receiving subarray receives coherently, and each receiving subarray receives independently.

[0010] According to one embodiment of this application, the decision module is used to input the first data into a trained decision model and obtain the mode selection instruction output by the decision model; the first data includes communication data and / or detection data.

[0011] According to one embodiment of this application, the transmission signal processing module includes: a mode activation unit, a communication signal generation unit, a communication signal modulation unit, a radar signal generation unit, a radar signal modulation unit, a framing unit, and a waveform generator; the mode activation unit is used to activate the communication signal generation unit and / or the radar signal generation unit based on the operating mode; the communication signal generation unit is used to generate a first communication signal corresponding to the second data; the communication signal modulation unit is used to modulate the first communication signal; the radar signal generation unit is used to generate a first radar signal corresponding to the second data; the radar signal modulation unit is used to modulate the first radar signal; the framing unit is used to combine the modulated first communication signal and / or the modulated first radar signal into an integrated data frame based on the signal transmission mode; the waveform generator is used to generate the first target signal based on the integrated data frame.

[0012] According to one embodiment of this application, the receiving signal processing module includes a demodulation unit, a signal identification unit, a communication signal processing unit, and a radar signal processing unit; the demodulation unit is used to demodulate the second target signal; the signal identification unit is used to identify the second communication signal and the second radar signal in the demodulated second target signal; the communication signal processing unit is used to process the second communication signal to obtain communication data; and the radar signal processing unit is used to process the second radar signal to obtain detection data.

[0013] According to one embodiment of this application, the transmitting array includes a coherent synchronization bus and a plurality of phase shifters; the coherent synchronization bus and the plurality of phase shifters are used to adjust the phase of at least one of the transmitting array elements to synchronize the phases of each of the transmitting subarrays, or to synchronize the phases of each of the transmitting array elements included in each of the transmitting subarrays.

[0014] Secondly, this application provides a method for operating a vehicle-mounted radar system as described in the first aspect. The method includes: a decision module determining the operating mode and signal transmission mode of the vehicle-mounted radar system based on first data received by the vehicle-mounted radar system; the operating mode is a communication mode, a radar mode, and a radar-communication integrated mode; the signal transmission mode includes a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) transmission mode, a phased array transmission mode, and a hybrid transmission mode that combines MIMO and phased array.

[0015] According to one embodiment of this application, after determining the operating mode and signal transmission mode of the vehicle-mounted radar system based on the first data received by the vehicle-mounted radar system, the method includes: the decision module generating a mode selection instruction based on the operating mode and signal transmission mode of the vehicle-mounted radar system, and sending the mode selection instruction to the transmission signal processing module and the reception signal processing module of the vehicle-mounted radar system; the mode selection instruction is used to indicate the operating mode and signal transmission mode of the vehicle-mounted radar system; the transmission signal processing module processing second data based on the mode selection instruction to generate a first target signal, and controlling the transmission array of the vehicle-mounted radar system to transmit the first target signal; the radar waveform of the first target signal corresponds to the signal transmission mode; the second data is determined according to the operating mode; the reception signal processing module controlling the reception array of the vehicle-mounted radar system to receive the second target signal based on the mode selection instruction, and acquiring the first data carried by the second target signal.

[0016] According to one embodiment of this application, the decision module determines the operating mode and signal transmission mode of the vehicle-mounted radar system based on the first data received by the vehicle-mounted radar system, including: the decision module inputs the first data into a trained decision model and obtains the mode selection instruction output by the decision model; the first data includes communication data and / or detection data.

[0017] According to one embodiment of this application, the transmission signal processing module processes second data based on the mode selection instruction to generate a first target signal, and controls the transmission array to transmit the first target signal, including: when the operating mode is the hybrid transmission mode, the mode activation unit of the transmission signal processing module activates the communication signal generation unit and the radar signal generation unit; the communication signal generation unit generates a first communication signal corresponding to the second data, and the radar signal generation unit generates a first radar signal corresponding to the second data; the communication signal modulation unit of the transmission signal processing module modulates the first communication signal, and the radar signal modulation unit modulates the first radar signal; the framing unit of the transmission signal processing module combines the modulated first communication signal and the modulated first radar signal into an integrated data frame based on the signal transmission mode; the waveform generator of the transmission signal processing module generates the first target signal based on the integrated data frame and controls the transmission array to transmit the first target signal.

[0018] According to one embodiment of this application, the transmission signal processing module processes second data based on the mode selection instruction to generate a first target signal, and controls the transmission array to transmit the first target signal, including: when the working mode is the communication mode, the mode activation unit of the transmission signal processing module activates the communication signal generation unit; the communication signal generation unit generates a first communication signal corresponding to the second data; the communication signal modulation unit of the transmission signal processing module modulates the first communication signal; the framing unit of the transmission signal processing module assembles the modulated first communication signal into an integrated data frame based on the signal transmission mode; the waveform generator of the transmission signal processing module generates the first target signal based on the integrated data frame and controls the transmission array to transmit the first target signal.

[0019] According to one embodiment of this application, the receiving signal processing module controls the receiving array to receive a second target signal and acquire the first data carried by the second target signal based on the mode selection instruction, including: the demodulation unit of the receiving signal processing module demodulating the second target signal; the signal identification unit of the receiving signal processing module identifying a second communication signal and a second radar signal in the demodulated second target signal; if the demodulated second target signal includes the second communication signal, the communication signal processing unit of the receiving signal processing module processes the second communication signal to acquire communication data; and if the demodulated second target signal includes the second radar signal, the radar signal processing unit of the receiving signal processing module processes the second radar signal to acquire detection data.

[0020] Thirdly, this application provides a vehicle including at least one of the vehicle-mounted radar systems described in the first aspect.

[0021] Additional aspects and advantages of this application will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of this application. Attached Figure Description

[0022] The above and / or additional aspects and advantages of this application will become apparent and readily understood from the description of the embodiments in conjunction with the following drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a structural schematic diagram of an vehicle-mounted radar system provided in an embodiment of this application; Figure 2 is a multi-mode schematic diagram of an vehicle-mounted radar system provided in an embodiment of this application; Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the operation of an vehicle-mounted radar system provided in an embodiment of this application; Figure 4 is a structural schematic diagram of the transmitting array and receiving array in an vehicle-mounted radar system provided in an embodiment of this application; Figure 5 is one of the waveform and beamforming schematic diagrams of the transmitted signal of an vehicle-mounted radar system provided in an embodiment of this application; Figure 6 is another of the waveform and beamforming schematic diagrams of the transmitted signal of an vehicle-mounted radar system provided in an embodiment of this application; Figure 7 is a third of the waveform and beamforming schematic diagrams of the transmitted signal of an vehicle-mounted radar system provided in an embodiment of this application; Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of the virtual aperture layout of an vehicle-mounted radar system provided in an embodiment of this application in multiple-input multiple-output transmission mode; Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of the virtual aperture layout of an vehicle-mounted radar system provided in an embodiment of this application in hybrid transmission mode. Figure 10 is a schematic diagram of the virtual aperture layout of the vehicle-mounted radar system in hybrid transmission mode provided in this application embodiment; Figure 11 is a schematic diagram of the workflow of the transmission signal processing module of the vehicle-mounted radar system provided in this application embodiment; Figure 12 is a schematic diagram of the frame structure of the integrated data frame provided in this application embodiment; Figure 13 is a schematic diagram of the transmission waveform of the vehicle-mounted radar system provided in this application embodiment; Figure 14 is a schematic diagram of the workflow of the receiving signal processing module of the vehicle-mounted radar system provided in this application embodiment; Figure 15 is a flowchart of the working method of the vehicle-mounted radar system provided in this application embodiment; Figure 16 is a schematic diagram of the vehicle structure provided in this application embodiment; Figure 17 is a schematic diagram of the vehicle-mounted installation of the vehicle-mounted radar system provided in this application embodiment; Figure 18 is a schematic diagram of one application scenario of the vehicle-mounted radar system provided in this application embodiment; Figure 19 is a schematic diagram of another application scenario of the vehicle-mounted radar system provided in this application embodiment; Figure 20 is a schematic diagram of a third application scenario of the vehicle-mounted radar system provided in this application embodiment. Detailed Implementation

[0023] The technical solutions of the embodiments of this application will be clearly described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some, not all, of the embodiments of this application. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of this application are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0024] The terms "first," "second," etc., used in the specification and claims of this application are used to distinguish similar objects and not to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that such use of data can be interchanged where appropriate so that embodiments of this application can be implemented in orders other than those illustrated or described herein, and the objects distinguished by "first," "second," etc., are generally of the same class and the number of objects is not limited; for example, a first object can be one or more. Furthermore, in the specification and claims, "and / or" indicates at least one of the connected objects, and the character " / " generally indicates that the preceding and following objects are in an "or" relationship.

[0025] The following description, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, details the vehicle-mounted radar system, its operating method, and the vehicle provided in this application through specific embodiments and application scenarios.

[0026] As shown in Figure 1, a vehicle-mounted radar system includes a decision module 150.

[0027] In actual implementation, this vehicle-mounted radar system is a radar-communication integrated MIMO phased array radar system, also known as a vehicle-mounted millimeter-wave MIMO phased array radar. This vehicle-mounted radar system can support dynamic switching between coherent and incoherent waveforms, thus supporting operating modes such as communication mode, radar mode, and integrated radar-communication mode, as well as multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) transmission mode, phased array transmission mode, and a hybrid transmission mode combining MIMO and phased array.

[0028] This vehicle-mounted radar system can be divided into three operating modes based on its function or working method: radar mode, communication mode, and integrated radar and communication mode. The definitions of the above three operating modes are explained below.

[0029] Radar Mode: This vehicle-mounted radar system only activates the radar detection function. The signal generation unit only generates radar signals and does not generate integrated radar communication signals. The waveform of the generated radar signal can be, but is not limited to, pulse wave (PW), continuous wave (CW), frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW), or phase modulated continuous wave (PMCW).

[0030] Communication Mode: This vehicle-mounted radar system only activates the data communication function. The signal generation unit only generates communication signals and does not generate integrated radar-communication signals. The generated communication signal waveform can be, but is not limited to, Frequency Shift Keying (FSK), Phase Shift Keying (PSK), Orthogonal Amplitude Modulated (QAM), or Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFMD).

[0031] Integrated Radar-Communication Mode: This vehicle-mounted radar system simultaneously activates radar detection and data communication functions, with the signal generation unit producing an integrated radar-communication signal. The generated integrated radar-communication signal waveform is not limited to combinations of the aforementioned radar and communication waveforms, such as FSK-FMCW, FSK-CW, PSK-FMCW, etc.

[0032] Each operating mode is compatible with three signal transmission modes: phased array transmission mode, hybrid transmission mode, and MIMO transmission mode. The definitions of these three signal transmission modes are explained below.

[0033] Phased array transmission mode: The phases of all transceiver elements are strictly synchronized, synthesizing a single high-gain beam, and all antennas transmit waveform signals of the same frequency and phase. Applicable scenarios: When the target or user distance is greater than 300 meters, such as data communication or target detection at long distances and / or in extreme weather conditions (e.g., heavy rain, dense fog, heavy snow, or sandstorms).

[0034] Hybrid transmission mode: The transmission array is divided into multiple subarrays. Within each subarray, signals are coherently coherently generated to form a low-gain beam. Orthogonal waveforms are transmitted between subarrays, achieving a combination of energy concentration and spatial diversity. Applicable scenarios: Target or user distances are between 50 and 300 meters, such as multi-target detection and multi-vehicle communication in urban areas with multiple vehicles traveling in parallel.

[0035] MIMO transmission mode: All transmitting elements independently transmit orthogonal waveforms, such as Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Doppler Division Multiple Access (DDMA), or Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA). This utilizes spatial degrees of freedom to achieve maximum diversity gain, generating a large-aperture virtual array and maximizing resolution performance. Applicable scenarios: When the target or user distance is less than 50 meters, such as in sensing and communication scenarios with complex road conditions or requiring wide-area coverage.

[0036] The decision module 150 is used to determine the operating mode and signal transmission mode of the vehicle-mounted radar system based on the first data received by the vehicle-mounted radar system. The operating modes are communication mode, radar mode, and radar-communication integrated mode. The signal transmission modes include multiple-input multiple-output transmission mode, phased array transmission mode, and hybrid transmission mode that combines multiple-input multiple-output and phased array.

[0037] In actual implementation, the decision module 150 can make decisions based on the first data received by the vehicle radar system to determine the working mode and signal transmission mode of the vehicle radar system.

[0038] In some embodiments, the decision module 150 can be used to train data using reinforcement learning algorithms, make decisions based on the trained model, and thereby determine the operating mode and signal transmission mode of the vehicle radar system.

[0039] The vehicle-mounted radar system according to the embodiments of this application adopts a novel MIMO phased array radar system architecture that integrates radar and communication. This system architecture is compatible with a hybrid system architecture that allows three signal transmission modes to coexist. It can switch between modes based on the decision results obtained by the decision module from the first data received by the vehicle-mounted radar system, better adapting to the complex environmental changes in vehicle scenarios. It breaks through the independent application framework of the traditional single system mode of vehicle-mounted radar. It is significantly superior to traditional vehicle-mounted radar in terms of compatibility, all-scenario adaptability, and dynamic environment adaptive capability. This system architecture breaks through the limitations of the single perception function of traditional vehicle-mounted radar. Combined with MIMO phased array technology, it can cope with complex and ever-changing driving environments (including severe weather, signal coverage blind spots, and field of view blind spots, etc.), improve radar perception and data communication performance in all scenarios, provide safer protection for advanced driver assistance systems, enable intelligent connected vehicles to have information interoperability in all scenarios, and meet the ever-increasing V2V communication needs in intelligent driving scenarios.

[0040] In some embodiments of this application, referring to FIG1, the vehicle-mounted radar system includes a transmitting array 110, a transmitting signal processing module 120, a receiving array 130, and a receiving signal processing module 140.

[0041] In actual implementation, the architecture of this vehicle-mounted radar system can mainly consist of a transmitting array 110, a transmitting signal processing module 120, a receiving array 130, a receiving signal processing module 140, and a decision module 150.

[0042] In some embodiments, both the transmit array 110 and the receive array 130 may include multiple array elements. Each array element may include an antenna. In some embodiments, the array element may be an active array element. In some embodiments, each array element may achieve phase synchronization through a phase shifter and a coherent synchronization bus, or it may be connected to an orthogonal waveform generator through a radio frequency channel, thereby supporting dynamic switching between coherent and incoherent waveforms.

[0043] The decision module 150 is used to generate a mode selection instruction based on the operating mode and signal transmission mode of the vehicle-mounted radar system, and send the mode selection instruction to the transmission signal processing module 120 and the reception signal processing module 140; the mode selection instruction is used to indicate the operating mode and signal transmission mode of the vehicle-mounted radar system.

[0044] In some embodiments, the decision module 150 can output a mode selection command based on the operating mode and signal transmission mode of the vehicle-mounted radar system it has determined. The mode selection command can carry information about the operating mode and signal transmission mode, thereby indicating the operating mode and signal transmission mode of the vehicle-mounted radar system.

[0045] In some embodiments, the decision module 150 may be used to train data using a reinforcement learning algorithm, and to generate mode selection instructions and output them to the transmit signal processing module 120 and the receive signal processing module 140.

[0046] In some embodiments, the mode selection instruction can be 4 bits long. The first two bits can be used to indicate the operating mode of the vehicle radar system, and the last two bits can be used to indicate the signal transmission mode of the vehicle radar system; or, the last two bits can be used to indicate the operating mode of the vehicle radar system, and the first two bits can be used to indicate the signal transmission mode of the vehicle radar system.

[0047] Taking the example of the first two digits indicating the operating mode of an onboard radar system and the last two digits indicating the signal transmission mode of the onboard radar system, in some embodiments, the first two digits of the mode selection command being 00 indicates that the operating mode is radar mode, thereby generating radar mode configuration information; the first two digits of the mode selection command being 01 indicates that the operating mode is communication mode, thereby generating communication mode configuration information; the first two digits of the mode selection command being 10 indicates that the operating mode is radar-communication integrated mode, thereby generating radar-communication integrated mode configuration information. In some embodiments, the last two digits of the mode selection command being 00 indicates that the signal transmission mode is MIMO transmission mode, thereby generating MIMO transmission mode configuration information; the last two digits of the mode selection command being 01 indicates that the signal transmission mode is phased array transmission mode, thereby generating phased array mode configuration information; the last two digits of the mode selection command being 10 indicates that the signal transmission mode is hybrid transmission mode, thereby generating hybrid transmission mode configuration information.

[0048] The transmission signal processing module 120 is used to process the second data based on the mode selection command, generate the first target signal, and control the transmission array 110 to transmit the first target signal; the radar waveform of the first target signal corresponds to the signal transmission mode; the target data is determined according to the working mode.

[0049] In actual execution, the transmission signal processing module 120 can be used for a series of baseband signal processing at the transmitting end. It determines the second data according to the working mode indicated by the mode selection instruction, and then processes the second data based on the mode selection instruction to generate a radar waveform and a first target signal corresponding to the signal transmission mode indicated by the mode selection instruction.

[0050] The transmission signal processing module 120 also controls the transmission array 110 so that the transmission array 110 transmits the first target signal according to the signal transmission mode determined by the decision module 150.

[0051] The receiving signal processing module 140 is used to control the receiving array 130 to receive the second target signal and acquire the first data carried by the second target signal based on the mode selection command.

[0052] In actual execution, the receiving signal processing module 140 can control the receiving array 130 to receive the second target signal according to the working mode corresponding to the signal transmission mode determined by the decision module 150.

[0053] The receiving signal processing module 140 can also process the second target signal received by the receiving array 130, acquire target range, speed, angle, point cloud and other detection data, and / or acquire communication data sent by other vehicles or electronic devices. The first data received by the vehicle-mounted radar system may include the aforementioned detection data and / or communication data.

[0054] To facilitate understanding of the vehicle-mounted radar system provided in this application embodiment, the workflow of the vehicle-mounted radar system is described below with reference to Figure 3. The workflow of the vehicle-mounted radar system can be summarized as follows.

[0055] Since the vehicle needs to detect the surrounding environment in the near field when it starts up, the initial working mode can be set to radar mode by default, and the initial signal transmission mode can be set to MIMO transmission mode by default.

[0056] Based on the initial operating mode and signal transmission mode, the configuration information indicating the initial operating mode and signal transmission mode is input into the transmission signal processing module 120 to generate the transmission waveform.

[0057] The receiving signal processing module 140 processes the received second target signal separately to obtain detection data such as the target's distance, speed, angle, and point cloud information, as well as communication data sent by other vehicles. Targets may include pedestrians, animals, other vehicles, and other living beings or objects.

[0058] The aforementioned detection and communication data are input into the decision module 150 for processing, and a mode selection command and corresponding configuration information are generated based on the processing results. The processing results may include the operating mode and signal transmission mode of the vehicle-mounted radar system.

[0059] Input the mode selection command into the transmit signal processing module 120 for the next round of transmit configuration.

[0060] It should be noted that the transmission cycle of this vehicle-mounted radar system is not fixed. Based on the decision result of the decision module 150, it can select the most suitable mode from multiple operating modes and signal transmission modes, and generate a corresponding mode selection command to switch the operating mode and / or signal transmission mode. For example, if the decision result of the decision module 150 indicates that maintaining the original mode is most suitable for the current environment, then the operating mode and signal transmission mode will not be switched, and the original signal transmission mode will be maintained for transmission; if the decision result of the decision module 150 indicates that switching to another mode is more suitable for the current environment, then a switch will be performed, and the system will update to the other operating mode and / or signal transmission mode for transmission according to the mode selection command.

[0061] The vehicle-mounted radar system according to the embodiments of this application adopts a novel MIMO phased array radar system architecture that integrates radar and communication. This system architecture is compatible with a hybrid system architecture that allows three signal transmission modes to coexist. It can better adapt to the complex environmental changes in vehicle scenarios by switching between modes, breaking through the independent application framework of the traditional single system mode of vehicle-mounted radar. It is significantly superior to traditional vehicle-mounted radar in terms of compatibility, all-scenario adaptability, and dynamic environment adaptive capability. This system architecture breaks through the limitations of the single perception function of traditional vehicle-mounted radar. Combined with MIMO phased array technology, it can cope with complex and ever-changing driving environments (including severe weather, signal coverage blind spots, and field of view blind spots, etc.), improve radar perception and data communication performance in all scenarios, provide safer protection for advanced driver assistance systems, enable intelligent connected vehicles to have information interoperability in all scenarios, and meet the ever-increasing V2V communication needs in intelligent driving scenarios.

[0062] It should be noted that, according to the vehicle-mounted radar system of the embodiments of this application, through system-level innovations such as the radar-communication integrated MIMO phased array transceiver system (which may include a transmitting array 110, a transmitting signal processing module 120, a receiving array 130, and a receiving signal processing module 140), the radar-communication integrated MIMO phased array hybrid antenna architecture (which may include a transmitting array 110 and a receiving array 130), and the radar-communication integrated adaptive decision-making (implemented by the decision module 150), the vehicle-mounted millimeter-wave radar is equipped with data communication and perception detection functions in all scenarios. It can meet the rapidly increasing V2V communication needs in intelligent driving scenarios, greatly enhance the irreplaceability of millimeter-wave radar sensors in ADAS, and improve the safety redundancy of ADAS in all scenarios (which may include severe weather, signal coverage blind spots, and field of view blind spots, etc.). It is suitable for target detection, high-resolution imaging, and vehicle-to-vehicle communication in intelligent driving scenarios, opening up new technical paths for the application of vehicle-mounted millimeter-wave radar.

[0063] It should be noted that the performance of traditional vehicle-mounted radar and communication integrated systems with a single MIMO architecture has limitations. For a single MIMO system architecture, relying on multiple antennas to transmit orthogonal waveforms to achieve a virtual aperture, while improving multi-target detection and communication capabilities, insufficient signal-to-noise ratio leads to reduced long-range detection or communication capabilities, especially with severe performance degradation in adverse weather conditions. In contrast, the vehicle-mounted radar system of this application, in addition to using MIMO transmission mode, is also compatible with phased array transmission mode and hybrid transmission mode. When specific needs or scenario changes occur, it can switch to phased array transmission mode or hybrid transmission mode to increase the signal-to-noise ratio and compensate for the insufficient detection and communication performance of MIMO transmission mode under adverse weather or long-range conditions.

[0064] It should be noted that vehicle-mounted radar systems need to achieve optimal overall performance in complex scenarios such as long-range target detection and communication (requiring high signal-to-noise ratio gain), multi-target detection and multi-user communication in complex urban areas (requiring trade-offs between diversity gain and SNR gain), and short-range near-field imaging and communication in multipath scenarios (requiring diversity gain). Especially in scenarios with limited signal coverage, such as extreme weather (including heavy rain and dense fog), complex road conditions, or blind spots, traditional MIMO systems cannot provide sufficient energy gain, leading to a sharp deterioration in the performance of integrated systems. The vehicle-mounted radar system of this application breaks through the boundaries of traditional single-system architecture with a hybrid design, achieving a balance of energy efficiency, diversity gain, and scenario adaptability.

[0065] It should be noted that the MIMO phased array hybrid transmission mode architecture is a hybrid system architecture that can be compatible with the coexistence of three modes (phased array mode, hybrid transmission mode, and MIMO mode). It can better adapt to the complex environmental changes in vehicle scenarios by switching between modes, breaking through the independent application framework of the traditional single system mode of vehicle radar.

[0066] In some embodiments of this application, referring to FIG4, the transmission array 110 includes a plurality of transmission subarrays 111; each transmission subarray 111 includes a plurality of transmission array elements 112.

[0067] In actual implementation, the transmitting array 110 can be composed of a fully digital phased array, which can be divided into multiple subarrays (the subarrays of the transmitting array 110 are called transmitting subarrays 111). Each transmitting subarray 111 can contain multiple active array elements (the array elements of the transmitting subarray 111 are called transmitting array elements 112). Each transmitting array element 112 can achieve phase synchronization through a phase shifter and a coherent synchronization bus, or it can be connected to an orthogonal waveform generator through an RF channel, thereby supporting dynamic switching between coherent and incoherent waveforms. The phase difference between transmitting subarrays 111 is only used for beam pointing control within the transmitting subarray 111 and is unrelated to the signal differentiation process.

[0068] In some embodiments, any two transmitting subarrays 111 may contain the same or different numbers of transmitting array elements 112.

[0069] In some embodiments, the arrangement of the transmission array elements 112 contained in any two transmission subarrays 111 may be the same or different.

[0070] In some embodiments, the transmitting array 110 and the receiving array 130 can be arranged on a two-dimensional plane. The transmitting array 110 and the receiving array 130 can be spaced apart, and the spacing can be flexibly set according to specific performance requirements.

[0071] Referring to Figure 4, the aperture of the transmitting array 110 in the horizontal direction can be... The aperture of the transmission array 110 in the vertical direction can be The horizontal spacing between any two adjacent transmitting subarrays 111 can be... The vertical spacing between any two adjacent transmitting subarrays 111 can be... .

[0072] In some embodiments, when the horizontal spacing between any two adjacent transmitting subarrays 111 is equal, the transmitting subarrays 111 are evenly distributed in the horizontal direction; when the horizontal spacing between any two adjacent transmitting subarrays 111 is not equal, the transmitting subarrays 111 are sparsely distributed in the horizontal direction.

[0073] In some embodiments, when the spacing between any two adjacent transmitting subarrays 111 is equal in the vertical direction, the transmitting subarrays 111 are evenly distributed in the vertical direction; when the spacing between any two adjacent transmitting subarrays 111 is not equal in the vertical direction, the transmitting subarrays 111 are sparsely distributed in the vertical direction.

[0074] In some embodiments, for the transmitting array 110, the array elements within the subarray are arranged on a two-dimensional plane within the subarray range, and the aperture in the horizontal direction is... The aperture in the vertical direction is The horizontal distance between any two adjacent elements within any subarray is... When the horizontal spacing between any two adjacent elements in any subarray is equal, the elements in the subarray are evenly distributed horizontally. When the horizontal spacing between any two adjacent elements in any subarray is not equal, the elements in the subarray are sparsely distributed horizontally. The vertical spacing between any two elements in any subarray is... When the vertical spacing between any two adjacent elements in any subarray is equal, the elements in the subarray are evenly distributed in the vertical direction. When the vertical spacing between any two adjacent elements in any subarray is not equal, the elements in the subarray are sparsely distributed in the vertical direction.

[0075] When the signal transmission mode is multiple input multiple output transmission mode, each transmitting element 112 transmits independently.

[0076] In actual execution, when the signal transmission mode is multiple input multiple output transmission mode, the transmission array 110 does not use a subarray structure for transmission. Each transmission element 112 transmits independently. All transmission elements 112 independently transmit orthogonal waveforms (such as TDMA, CDMA, FDMA, DDMA or OFDMA, etc.) without beamforming. The radar waveform transmitted by the transmission array 110 can be shown in Figure 5.

[0077] When the signal transmission mode is phased array transmission mode, each transmitting subarray 111 includes each transmitting element 112 which transmits in a coherent manner, and each transmitting subarray 111 transmits in a coherent manner. In actual execution, when the signal transmission mode is phased array transmission mode, the transmitting array 110 adopts a subarray structure for transmission, all transmitting elements 112 are strictly synchronized in phase, all antennas transmit fully correlated waveforms, and synthesize a single high-gain beam for full-domain scanning, etc. The radar waveform transmitted by the transmitting array 110 can be shown in Figure 6.

[0078] When the signal transmission mode is a hybrid transmission mode, each transmission element 112 of each transmission subarray 111 transmits in a coherent manner, and each transmission subarray 111 transmits independently.

[0079] In actual execution, when the signal transmission mode is a hybrid transmission mode, the transmitting array 110 adopts a subarray structure for signal transmission. Within the subarray, signals are coherently generated to form a small-gain beam (i.e., transmit coherent waveform small beams). Different subarrays transmit orthogonal waveforms, that is, transmit coherent waveforms within the subarray and orthogonal waveforms between subarrays. The transmitted waveforms between subarrays are orthogonal. Multiple subarrays form multiple small beams to achieve MIMO diversity, thereby achieving a combination of energy concentration and spatial diversity. The radar waveform transmitted by the transmitting array 110 can be shown in Figure 7.

[0080] According to the embodiments of this application, the vehicle-mounted radar system adopts a hybrid antenna architecture integrating radar and communication MIMO phased array, which is compatible with multiple transmission modes such as MIMO transmission mode, phased array transmission mode and hybrid transmission mode. It can better adapt to the complex environmental changes in vehicle scenarios, break through the independent application framework of MIMO radar system and phased array radar system in traditional vehicle scenarios, solve the shortcomings of traditional vehicle-mounted radar communication integrated system antenna architecture in terms of compatibility and scalability, achieve synergistic optimization of energy concentration and diversity gain, greatly improve the reliability of long-distance communication information transmission and radar target detection, and provide safety redundancy of ADAS system in scenarios such as bad weather, signal coverage blind spots, field of view blind spots, and complex road conditions.

[0081] In some embodiments of this application, the transmit array 110 includes a coherent synchronization bus and a plurality of phase shifters; the coherent synchronization bus and the plurality of phase shifters are used to adjust the phase of at least one transmit array element 112 to synchronize the phase of each transmit subarray 111, or to synchronize the phase of each transmit array element 112 included in each transmit subarray 111.

[0082] In actual implementation, the transmit array 110 may include a coherent synchronization bus and multiple phase shifters. In some embodiments, the transmit subarrays 111 may correspond one-to-one with the phase shifters. Each transmit array element 112 can achieve phase synchronization through the phase shifter and the coherent synchronization bus, thereby realizing phased array transmit mode and hybrid transmit mode.

[0083] In some embodiments of this application, referring to FIG4, the receiving array 130 includes a plurality of receiving subarrays 131; each receiving subarray 131 includes a plurality of receiving array elements 132.

[0084] In actual implementation, the receiving array 130 can be composed of a fully digital phased array, which can be divided into multiple subarrays (the subarrays of the receiving array 130 are receiving subarrays 131). Each receiving subarray 131 can contain multiple active array elements (the array elements of the receiving subarray 131 are receiving array elements 132). Each receiving array element 132 can achieve phase synchronization through a phase shifter and a coherent synchronization bus, or it can be connected to an orthogonal waveform generator through an RF channel, thereby supporting dynamic switching between coherent and incoherent waveforms. The phase difference between the receiving subarrays 131 is only used for beam pointing control within the receiving subarray 131 and is unrelated to the signal differentiation process.

[0085] In some embodiments, the number of receiving array elements 132 contained in any two receiving subarrays 131 may be the same or different.

[0086] In some embodiments, the arrangement of the receiving array elements 132 contained in any two receiving subarrays 131 may be the same or different.

[0087] Referring to Figure 4, the aperture of the receiving array 130 in the horizontal direction can be... The aperture of the receiving array 130 in the vertical direction can be The horizontal spacing between any two adjacent receiver subarrays 131 can be... The vertical spacing between any two adjacent receiving subarrays can be... .

[0088] In some embodiments, when the horizontal spacing between any two adjacent receiving subarrays 131 is equal, the receiving subarrays 131 are evenly distributed in the horizontal direction; when the horizontal spacing between any two adjacent receiving subarrays 131 is not equal, the receiving subarrays 131 are sparsely distributed in the horizontal direction.

[0089] In some embodiments, when the vertical spacing of any adjacent receiving subarrays 131 is equal, the receiving subarrays 131 are evenly distributed in the vertical direction; when the vertical spacing of any adjacent receiving subarrays 131 is not equal, the receiving subarrays 131 are sparsely distributed in the vertical direction.

[0090] In some embodiments, for the receiving array 130, the array elements within the subarray are arranged on a two-dimensional plane within the subarray range, and the aperture in the horizontal direction is... The aperture in the vertical direction is The horizontal distance between any two adjacent elements within any subarray is... When the horizontal spacing between any two adjacent elements in any subarray is equal, the elements in the subarray are evenly distributed horizontally. When the horizontal spacing between any two adjacent elements in any subarray is not equal, the elements in the subarray are sparsely distributed horizontally. The vertical spacing between any two elements in any subarray is... When the vertical spacing between any two adjacent elements in any subarray is equal, the elements in the subarray are evenly distributed in the vertical direction. When the vertical spacing between any two adjacent elements in any subarray is not equal, the elements in the subarray are sparsely distributed in the vertical direction.

[0091] When the signal transmission mode is multiple-input multiple-output transmission mode, each receiving array element 132 receives independently; in actual execution, when the signal transmission mode is multiple-input multiple-output transmission mode, the receiving array 130 does not use a subarray structure for receiving, and each receiving array element 132 receives independently.

[0092] When the signal transmission mode is phased array transmission mode, each receiving subarray 131 includes each receiving array element 132 receiving in a coherent manner, and each receiving subarray 131 receiving in a coherent manner; in actual execution, when the signal transmission mode is phased array transmission mode, the receiving array 130 can adopt a subarray structure for receiving, and all receiving array elements 132 are strictly synchronized in phase.

[0093] When the signal transmission mode is a hybrid transmission mode, each receiving array element 132 receives independently, or each receiving array element 132 included in each receiving subarray 131 receives in a coherent manner, and each receiving array element 132 receives independently.

[0094] In actual implementation, when the signal transmission mode is a hybrid transmission mode, the receiving array 130 can adopt an independent array structure for signal reception, and each receiving array element 132 can receive independently to increase the virtual aperture and improve the resolution.

[0095] When the signal transmission mode is a hybrid transmission mode, the receiving array 130 can also adopt a subarray structure. Each receiving subarray 131 includes each receiving array element 132 that receives in a coherent manner, and each receiving array element 132 receives independently. This utilizes the coherent accumulation between subarrays to improve the receiving signal-to-noise ratio gain and enhance medium- and long-distance communication and sensing capabilities.

[0096] Figure 8 shows the virtual aperture layout of the vehicle-mounted radar system in MIMO transmission mode. The transmit array 110 and receive array 130 are arranged in a two-dimensional plane. The aperture of the transmit array 110 in the horizontal direction is... The aperture of the transmission array 110 in the vertical direction is The aperture of the receiving array 130 in the horizontal direction is... The aperture of the receiving array 130 in the vertical direction is In MIMO transmission mode, neither the transmit array 110 nor the receive array 130 employs a subarray architecture for transmission and reception; all array elements independently transmit or receive orthogonal waveforms. Therefore, in MIMO transmission mode, the virtual aperture of this vehicle-mounted radar system in the horizontal direction is equivalent to... The virtual aperture in the vertical direction is equivalent to This can maximize diversity gain performance.

[0097] Figure 9 shows the virtual aperture layout of the vehicle-mounted radar system in hybrid firing mode. Referring to Figure 9, the transmitting array 110 uses a subarray architecture to transmit signals, and the aperture of the transmitting array 110 in the horizontal direction is... The aperture of the transmission array 110 in the vertical direction is Suppose there are N transmitting subarrays 111 in total, and the horizontal distance between the (n-1)th and nth adjacent transmitting subarrays 111 is... The vertical spacing between any two adjacent transmitting subarrays 111 is . Let the equivalent phase center of the synthesized beam of the nth transmitting subarray be... The equivalent phase center in the horizontal direction is The equivalent path difference in the horizontal direction is The equivalent phase center in the vertical direction is The equivalent path difference in the vertical direction is Therefore, the equivalent emission aperture of the emission array 110 in the horizontal direction is... The equivalent emission aperture of the emission array 110 in the vertical direction is The receiving array 130 uses an independent element array architecture for receiving signals. Assume there are M receiving elements 132 in total, and the aperture of the receiving array 130 in the horizontal direction is... The aperture of the receiving array 130 in the vertical direction is Therefore, the virtual aperture formed in the horizontal direction in this example is... The virtual aperture formed in the vertical direction is .

[0098] Figure 10 shows the virtual aperture layout of the vehicle-mounted radar system in hybrid firing mode. Referring to Figure 9, both the transmitting array 110 and the receiving array 130 employ a subarray architecture for signal transmission and reception. The aperture of the transmitting array 110 in the horizontal direction is... The aperture of the transmission array 110 in the vertical direction is Suppose there are N transmitting subarrays in total, and the horizontal distance between the (n-1)th and nth adjacent transmitting subarrays is... The vertical spacing between any two adjacent transmitting subarrays 111 is . Let the equivalent phase center of the synthesized beam of the nth transmitting subarray be... The equivalent phase center in the horizontal direction is The equivalent path difference in the horizontal direction is The equivalent phase center in the vertical direction is The equivalent path difference in the vertical direction is Therefore, the equivalent emission aperture of the emission array 110 in the horizontal direction is... The equivalent emission aperture of the emission array 110 in the vertical direction is The aperture of the receiving array 130 in the horizontal direction is... The aperture of the receiving array 130 in the vertical direction is Suppose there are M receiving subarrays 131 in total, and the horizontal distance between the (m-1)th and mth adjacent receiving subarrays 131 is... The vertical spacing between any two adjacent receiving subarrays 131 is . Let the equivalent phase center of the synthesized beam of the m-th receiving subarray 131 be... The equivalent phase center in the horizontal direction is The equivalent path difference in the horizontal direction is The equivalent phase center in the vertical direction is The equivalent path difference in the vertical direction is Therefore, the equivalent emission aperture of the receiving array 130 in the horizontal direction is... The equivalent transmit aperture of the receiver array 130 in the vertical direction is Therefore, the virtual aperture formed in the horizontal direction in this example is... The virtual aperture formed in the vertical direction is .

[0099] According to the embodiments of this application, the vehicle-mounted radar system adopts a hybrid antenna architecture integrating radar and communication MIMO phased array, which is compatible with multiple transmission modes such as MIMO transmission mode, phased array transmission mode and hybrid transmission mode. It can better adapt to the complex environmental changes in vehicle scenarios, break through the independent application framework of MIMO radar system and phased array radar system in traditional vehicle scenarios, solve the shortcomings of traditional vehicle-mounted radar communication integrated system antenna architecture in terms of compatibility and scalability, achieve synergistic optimization of energy concentration and diversity gain, greatly improve the reliability of long-distance communication information transmission and radar target detection, and provide safety redundancy of ADAS system in scenarios such as bad weather, signal coverage blind spots, field of view blind spots, and complex road conditions.

[0100] In some embodiments of this application, the decision module 150 is used to input first data into a trained decision model and obtain the mode selection instruction output by the decision model; the first data includes communication data and / or detection data.

[0101] In actual execution, the decision module 150 can use the data acquired by the receiving signal processing module 140 as input to the decision model. The decision model makes a decision based on the data acquired by the receiving signal processing module 140 and outputs the corresponding mode selection instruction. The data acquired by the receiving signal processing module 140 is the first data, which may include communication data and / or detection data.

[0102] In some embodiments, the reward function of the decision model can be a reward function guided by indicators such as low energy consumption, fast response, low switching frequency, low accident rate, low bit error rate, and high communication rate for integrated radar and communication. The specific form of the reward function is not limited in the embodiments of this application.

[0103] In some embodiments, real-time environmental monitoring data can also be used as input to the decision model. Through repeated learning and reward feedback, the optimization problem can be solved, resulting in a data-driven multi-mode automatic switching strategy implemented by the decision model, which improves the overall performance of the radar-communication integrated intelligent agent across all scenarios.

[0104] In some embodiments, a radar agent integrating environmental interaction, actions, states, and rewards can be established. This agent can achieve automatic switching between multiple transmission modes (phased array, hybrid, MIMO) across all scenarios and collaborative optimization of communication radar resource allocation through reinforcement learning strategies. This radar agent can then be used to invoke decision-making models.

[0105] It should be noted that the traditional single MIMO system also suffers from insufficient adaptability to various scenarios. A single MIMO system radar has a fixed transmission mode and lacks dynamic switching capabilities, making it unable to achieve optimal overall performance in complex scenarios such as long-range target detection and communication (requiring high signal-to-noise ratio gain), multi-target detection and multi-user communication in complex urban areas (requiring trade-offs between diversity and SNR gain), and short-range near-field imaging and communication in multipath scenarios (requiring diversity gain). Especially in scenarios with limited signal coverage, such as extreme weather (including heavy rain and dense fog), complex road conditions, and blind spots, the traditional MIMO system cannot provide sufficient energy gain, leading to a sharp deterioration in the performance of the integrated system.

[0106] According to the vehicle-mounted radar system of this application embodiment, the decision module performs radar-communication integrated adaptive mode switching decision-making, constructs a learning index that takes into account both communication performance and radar performance, and uses deep learning and / or reinforcement learning to optimize the switching strategy and communication radar resource allocation strategy in all scenarios, thereby improving the accuracy of the integrated decision model and its adaptability to the environment. For extreme weather (including rainstorms, dense fog, sandstorms, heavy snow, etc.), it can achieve greater safety redundancy, solve the limitation problem of single-type (communication or perception) decision index in different scenarios, improve the flexibility of the all-scenario adaptation strategy, and can flexibly configure the integrated carrier waveform according to the performance requirements of different scenarios, taking into account the synergistic optimization of energy concentration and diversity gain. It is especially suitable for complex and changeable vehicle-mounted environments and can solve the problem of poor scenario adaptability of radar-communication integrated systems with a single MIMO transmission mode.

[0107] In some embodiments of this application, the transmission signal processing module 120 includes: a communication signal generation unit, a communication signal modulation unit, a radar signal generation unit, a radar signal modulation unit, a framing unit, and a waveform generator; the communication signal generation unit is used to generate a first communication signal corresponding to the second data; the communication signal modulation unit is used to modulate the first communication signal; the radar signal generation unit is used to generate a first radar signal corresponding to the second data; the radar signal modulation unit is used to modulate the first radar signal; the framing unit is used to combine the modulated first communication signal and / or the modulated first radar signal into an integrated data frame based on the signal transmission mode; and the waveform generator is used to generate a first target signal based on the integrated data frame.

[0108] In actual implementation, referring to Figure 11, the transmit signal processing module 120 can configure parameters according to the mode selection command. The parameters include the operating mode and the signal transmission mode. The mode activation unit can activate the communication signal generation unit and / or the radar signal generation unit according to the configured parameters.

[0109] When the operating mode is communication mode, only the communication signal generation unit can be activated. The communication signal generation unit generates a first communication signal corresponding to the second data based on the second data. The first communication signal is input to the communication signal modulation unit, and the first communication signal can be modulated into waveforms such as, but not limited to, FSK, PSK, or QAM. The framing unit performs framing according to the configured operating mode, and combines the modulated first communication signal into an integrated data frame. The integrated data frame consists of the corresponding communication modulation waveform. The waveform generator can be a multi-mode waveform generator, which can select the carrier waveform corresponding to the configured signal transmission mode (MIMO transmission mode corresponds to orthogonal waveforms, phased array transmission mode corresponds to fully coherent waveforms, and hybrid transmission mode corresponds to coherent waveforms within the subarray and orthogonal waveforms between subarrays) according to the configured signal transmission mode, and map the modulated carrier waveform to the corresponding antenna for transmission.

[0110] When the operating mode is radar mode, only the radar signal generation unit can be activated. The radar signal generation unit generates a first radar signal corresponding to the second data based on the second data. The first radar signal is input to the radar signal modulation unit, and the first radar signal can be modulated into waveforms such as, but not limited to, PW, CW, FMCW, or PMCW. The framing unit performs framing according to the configured operating mode, and combines the modulated first radar signals into an integrated data frame. The integrated data frame consists of the corresponding radar modulated waveform. The waveform generator can be a multi-mode waveform generator, which can select the carrier waveform corresponding to the configured signal transmission mode (MIMO transmission mode corresponds to orthogonal waveforms, phased array transmission mode corresponds to fully coherent waveforms, and hybrid transmission mode corresponds to coherent waveforms within the subarray and orthogonal waveforms between subarrays) according to the configured signal transmission mode, and map the modulated carrier waveform to the corresponding antenna for transmission.

[0111] In the integrated radar-communication mode, both the communication signal generation unit and the radar signal generation unit can be activated simultaneously. The communication signal generation unit generates a first communication signal corresponding to the second data. The radar signal generation unit generates a first radar signal corresponding to the second data. The first communication signal is input to the communication signal modulation unit, and the first radar signal is input to the radar signal modulation unit. The framing unit performs framing according to the configured operating mode, combining the modulated first communication signal and the first radar signal into an integrated data frame. The integrated data frame consists of the corresponding integrated radar-communication waveform. The waveform generator can be a multi-mode waveform generator, which can select the carrier waveform corresponding to the configured signal transmission mode (MIMO transmission mode corresponds to orthogonal waveform, phased array transmission mode corresponds to fully coherent waveform, and hybrid transmission mode corresponds to coherent waveform within the subarray and orthogonal waveform between subarrays) and map the modulated carrier waveform to the corresponding antenna for transmission.

[0112] In some embodiments, Figure 12 illustrates the frame structure of an integrated data frame. Depending on the operating mode, the frame structure of the integrated data frame can be divided into three types: communication mode frame structure, radar mode frame structure, and radar-communication hybrid frame structure. The communication mode frame structure can include three parts: a frame header, a frame trailer, and a communication signal. The frame header and trailer are used to distinguish the start position of the data frame and also contain the user sequence information that transmitted the data frame, which can be used to distinguish the echoes of multiple different users and the echoes of its own transmitted signals. The radar mode frame structure can include three parts: a frame header, a frame trailer, and a radar signal. The frame header and trailer are used to distinguish the start position of the data frame and also contain the user sequence information that transmitted the data frame, which can be used to distinguish the echoes of multiple different users and the echoes of its own transmitted signals. The radar-communication hybrid transmission mode frame structure can include three parts: a frame header, a frame trailer, and an integrated radar-communication signal (subframes can use a hybrid integrated radar-communication signal, or subframes can use a combination of radar and communication signals). The frame header and trailer are used to distinguish the start position of the data frame and also contain the user sequence information that transmitted the data frame, which can be used to distinguish the echoes of multiple different users and the echoes of its own transmitted signals.

[0113] Figure 13 shows an example of the transmitted waveform of a vehicle-mounted radar system. In some embodiments, when the communication signal is an FSK modulated signal and the radar signal is an FMCW signal, the FSK communication signal can be modulated onto the FMCW radar signal to obtain an integrated radar-communication signal FSK-FMCW. According to the signal transmission mode determined by the decision module 150, mutually coherent or incoherent waveforms are selected for transmission on the corresponding antennas. For TDMA transmission, the signal is TDMA-FSK-FMCW. Figure 13 uses the MIMO core mode as an example, employing orthogonal waveforms of TDMA for transmission, i.e., each transmitting antenna transmits in different time slots to generate orthogonal waveforms. Figure 13 is only an example; in actual vehicle-mounted radar systems, the communication signal can be FSK, PSK, or QAM, and the radar signal can be PW, CW, FMCW, or PMCW. The orthogonality of the waveforms of the transmitting array element 112 can be determined according to the specific transmission mode, such as TDMA, FDMA, CDMA, DDMA, or OFDMA.

[0114] The vehicle-mounted radar system according to the embodiments of this application, by linking the structure of the transmitting array with the multi-mode waveform generation module in real time, generates adaptive waveforms for three signal transmission modes respectively. This simultaneously ensures the reliability of long-distance communication information transmission and radar target detection, as well as the coordination of high-resolution imaging and multi-user communication. It achieves synergistic optimization of energy concentration and diversity gain, greatly improving the reliability of long-distance communication information transmission and radar target detection, and enhancing the safety redundancy of the ADAS system in scenarios such as severe weather, signal coverage blind spots, field-of-view blind spots, and complex road conditions. Furthermore, the multi-mode waveform generator and the radio frequency switch are linked in real time, dynamically loading waveform parameters to ensure uninterrupted scene transitions.

[0115] In some embodiments of this application, the receiving signal processing module 140 includes a demodulation unit, a signal identification unit, a communication signal processing unit, and a radar signal processing unit; the demodulation unit is used to demodulate the second target signal; the signal identification unit is used to identify the second communication signal and the second radar signal in the demodulated second target signal; the communication signal processing unit is used to process the second communication signal to obtain communication data; and the radar signal processing unit is used to process the second communication radar to obtain radar data.

[0116] In actual implementation, the second target signal can be an integrated signal comprising the echo of its own emitted signal and signals emitted by other vehicles. The echo of its own emitted signal can be a second radar signal. The integrated signal emitted by other vehicles can be a second communication signal.

[0117] Referring to Figure 14, the second target signal can be received by the receiving array 130 and input into the demodulation unit. The demodulation unit, in cooperation with the synchronization unit, demodulates the second target signal to obtain sequence information of different signals. The sequence signals of the demodulated signals are input into the signal identification unit to distinguish signals from different sources. The distinguished signals can be divided into their own echo signal and signals transmitted by other vehicles, or only their own echo signal, or only signals transmitted by other vehicles. The own echo signal is input into the radar signal processing unit for processing to obtain target range, speed, angle, and other sensing or detection data. The signals transmitted by other vehicles are input into the communication signal processing unit for processing to obtain communication data transmitted by other vehicles.

[0118] According to the vehicle radar system of this application embodiment, the receiving signal processing module identifies the second communication signal and the second radar signal in the received second target signal, processes them respectively, and obtains communication data and / or detection data. This can break through the limitations of the single perception function of traditional vehicle radar, enabling intelligent connected vehicles to have the function of information interoperability in all scenarios, and meeting the rapidly increasing V2V communication needs in intelligent driving scenarios.

[0119] This application also provides a method for operating the vehicle-mounted radar system in any of the foregoing embodiments. Referring to FIG15, the method includes: step 1510.

[0120] Step 1510: Based on the first data received by the vehicle-mounted radar system, the decision module determines the operating mode and signal transmission mode of the vehicle-mounted radar system. The operating modes are communication mode, radar mode, and radar-communication integrated mode. The signal transmission modes include multiple-input multiple-output transmission mode, phased array transmission mode, and hybrid transmission mode that combines multiple-input multiple-output and phased array.

[0121] In some embodiments of this application, after determining the operating mode and signal transmission mode of the vehicle-mounted radar system based on the first data received by the vehicle-mounted radar system, the method includes: a decision module generating a mode selection instruction based on the operating mode and signal transmission mode of the vehicle-mounted radar system, and sending the mode selection instruction to the transmission signal processing module and the reception signal processing module of the vehicle-mounted radar system; the mode selection instruction is used to indicate the operating mode and signal transmission mode of the vehicle-mounted radar system; the transmission signal processing module processes the second data based on the mode selection instruction to generate a first target signal, and controls the transmission array of the vehicle-mounted radar system to transmit the first target signal; the radar waveform of the first target signal corresponds to the signal transmission mode; the second data is determined according to the operating mode; the reception signal processing module controls the reception array of the vehicle-mounted radar system to receive the second target signal based on the mode selection instruction, and acquires the first data carried by the second target signal.

[0122] In some embodiments of this application, the decision module determines the operating mode and signal transmission mode of the vehicle radar system based on the first data received by the vehicle radar system, including: the decision module inputs the first data into a trained decision model and obtains the mode selection instruction output by the decision model; the first data includes communication data and / or detection data.

[0123] In some embodiments of this application, the transmission signal processing module processes the second data based on the mode selection instruction to generate a first target signal and controls the transmission array to transmit the first target signal. This includes: when the operating mode is a hybrid transmission mode, the mode activation unit of the transmission signal processing module activates the communication signal generation unit and the radar signal generation unit; the communication signal generation unit generates a first communication signal corresponding to the second data, and the radar signal generation unit generates a first radar signal corresponding to the second data; the communication signal modulation unit of the transmission signal processing module modulates the first communication signal, and the radar signal modulation unit modulates the first radar signal; the framing unit of the transmission signal processing module combines the modulated first communication signal and the modulated first radar signal into an integrated data frame based on the signal transmission mode; and the waveform generator of the transmission signal processing module generates the first target signal based on the integrated data frame and controls the transmission array to transmit the first target signal.

[0124] In some embodiments of this application, the transmit signal processing module processes the second data based on the mode selection instruction to generate a first target signal and controls the transmit array to transmit the first target signal. This includes: when the operating mode is communication mode, the mode activation unit of the transmit signal processing module activates the communication signal generation unit; the communication signal generation unit generates a first communication signal corresponding to the second data; the communication signal modulation unit of the transmit signal processing module modulates the first communication signal; the framing unit of the transmit signal processing module assembles the modulated first communication signal into an integrated data frame based on the signal transmission mode; and the waveform generator of the transmit signal processing module generates the first target signal based on the integrated data frame and controls the transmit array to transmit the first target signal.

[0125] In some embodiments of this application, the transmission signal processing module processes the second data based on the mode selection instruction to generate a first target signal and controls the transmission array to transmit the first target signal, including: when the working mode is radar mode, the mode activation unit of the transmission signal processing module activates the radar signal generation unit; the radar signal generation unit generates a first radar signal corresponding to the second data; the radar signal modulation unit of the transmission signal processing module modulates the first radar signal; the framing unit of the transmission signal processing module assembles the modulated first radar signal into an integrated data frame based on the signal transmission mode; and the waveform generator of the transmission signal processing module generates the first target signal based on the integrated data frame and controls the transmission array to transmit the first target signal.

[0126] In some embodiments of this application, the receiving signal processing module controls the receiving array to receive a second target signal and acquire first data carried by the second target signal based on a mode selection instruction. This includes: the demodulation unit of the receiving signal processing module demodulating the second target signal; the signal identification unit of the receiving signal processing module identifying a second communication signal and a second radar signal in the demodulated second target signal; if the demodulated second target signal includes a second communication signal, the communication signal processing unit of the receiving signal processing module processes the second communication signal to acquire communication data; and if the demodulated second target signal includes a second radar signal, the radar signal processing unit of the receiving signal processing module processes the second communication radar to acquire detection data.

[0127] The implementation process of the above-mentioned vehicle radar system operation methods can be found in the description of the operation process of the vehicle radar system in any of the aforementioned vehicle radar system embodiments, and the same effect can be achieved. To avoid repetition, it will not be described again here.

[0128] This application also provides a vehicle. Referring to FIG16, the vehicle 1600 may include at least one on-board radar system 1610.

[0129] In actual implementation, the vehicle radar system 1610 can be the vehicle radar system provided in any of the foregoing embodiments.

[0130] Figure 17 illustrates an example of vehicle-mounted radar system installation. In some embodiments, referring to Figure 17, the vehicle-mounted radar system can be optionally installed at at least one of the following locations: both sides of the front bumper (left and right front corners), both sides of the rear bumper (left and right rear corners), the front of the vehicle, the parking space, and the roof.

[0131] Figure 18 illustrates an example application scenario of an onboard radar system. Referring to Figure 18, all vehicles are equipped with this onboard radar system, which can transmit integrated radar and communication signals to achieve data communication between different vehicles and the perception and detection of surrounding targets.

[0132] In some embodiments, the vehicle-mounted radar system can be used for data communication and radar detection. When the vehicle-mounted radar system needs to image in complex near-field road conditions or conduct wide-area communication, it can switch to MIMO transmission mode to improve diversity capability using orthogonal waveforms. When the vehicle-mounted radar system needs to perform multi-target tracking or multi-user communication at medium range, it can switch to hybrid transmission mode to form multiple beams, improving signal-to-noise ratio gain while maintaining diversity capability. When the vehicle-mounted radar system needs long-range communication and sensing detection, it can switch to phased array mode to form a high-gain single beam for full-range scanning.

[0133] Figure 19 illustrates another example application scenario of this vehicle-mounted radar system. This system can be used for data communication broadcasting in adverse weather conditions. As shown in Figure 19, in extreme weather, a vehicle involved in an accident may break down on the roadside, posing a significant safety hazard. Traditional radar-communication integrated systems use a MIMO (Multi-Input Multiple-Output) system, which suffers severe signal attenuation in adverse weather, making it impossible to broadcast accident information to vehicles behind in a timely manner. However, the vehicle-mounted radar system provided in this embodiment can broadcast accident information to vehicles behind by activating both a communication mode and a high-gain phased array transmission mode. Upon receiving the accident warning information, the vehicle-mounted radar systems installed in the following vehicles can change lanes in advance to bypass the accident vehicle.

[0134] Figure 20 illustrates another example application scenario of this vehicle-mounted radar system. This system is suitable for vehicle-to-vehicle data communication in adverse weather conditions. As shown in Figure 20, in adverse weather, visibility is extremely low (all indicator lights are invisible), lidar and cameras fail, traditional MIMO radar systems suffer from insufficient energy gain and severe signal attenuation. Especially when autonomous vehicles need to change lanes, the difficulty in detecting the driving status information of surrounding vehicles poses a significant safety hazard and can easily lead to accidents. The vehicle-mounted radar system provided in this embodiment can activate phased array mode to generate high-gain beam speeds for vehicle-to-vehicle communication. Vehicles exchange driving status information (including but not limited to their own speed and position, and whether they are changing lanes), thereby effectively reducing the probability of accidents and improving vehicle driving safety through vehicle-to-vehicle data communication.

[0135] It should be noted that, in this document, the terms "comprising," "including," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such a process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitations, an element defined by the phrase "comprising one..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that includes that element. Furthermore, it should be noted that the scope of the methods and apparatuses in the embodiments of this application is not limited to performing functions in the order shown or discussed, but may also include performing functions substantially simultaneously or in the reverse order, depending on the functions involved. For example, the described methods may be performed in a different order than described, and various steps may be added, omitted, or combined. Additionally, features described with reference to certain examples may be combined in other examples.

[0136] Through the above description of the embodiments, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that the methods of the above embodiments can be implemented by means of software plus necessary general-purpose hardware platforms. Of course, they can also be implemented by hardware, but in many cases the former is a better implementation method. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of this application, in essence, or the part that contributes to the related technology, can be embodied in the form of a computer software product. This computer software product is stored in a storage medium (such as ROM / RAM, magnetic disk, optical disk) and includes several instructions to cause a terminal (which may be a mobile phone, computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute the methods described in the various embodiments of this application.

[0137] The embodiments of this application have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, this application is not limited to the specific embodiments described above. The specific embodiments described above are merely illustrative and not restrictive. Those skilled in the art can make many other forms under the guidance of this application without departing from the spirit and scope of the claims, and all of these forms are within the protection scope of this application.

[0138] In the description of this specification, the references to terms such as "one embodiment," "some embodiments," "illustrative embodiment," "example," "specific example," or "some examples," etc., indicate that a specific feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with that embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment or example of this application. In this specification, the illustrative expressions of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments or examples.

[0139] Although embodiments of this application have been shown and described, those skilled in the art will understand that various changes, modifications, substitutions and alterations can be made to these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of this application, the scope of which is defined by the claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A vehicle-mounted radar system, characterized in that, include: Decision module; The decision module is used to determine the operating mode and signal transmission mode of the vehicle radar system based on the first data received by the vehicle radar system. The operating modes are communication mode, radar mode, and integrated radar and communication mode; The signal transmission modes include multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) transmission mode, phased array transmission mode, and hybrid transmission mode that combines MIMO and phased array.

2. The vehicle-mounted radar system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The system includes a transmitting array, a transmitting signal processing module, a receiving array, and a receiving signal processing module. The decision module is used to generate a mode selection command based on the operating mode and signal transmission mode of the vehicle-mounted radar system, and to send the mode selection command to the transmitting signal processing module and the receiving signal processing module. The mode selection command indicates the operating mode and signal transmission mode of the vehicle-mounted radar system. The transmitting signal processing module is used to process second data based on the mode selection command to generate a first target signal, and to control the transmitting array to transmit the first target signal. The radar waveform of the first target signal corresponds to the signal transmission mode; The second data is determined according to the operating mode; the receiving signal processing module is used to control the receiving array to receive the second target signal and acquire the first data carried by the second target signal based on the mode selection instruction.

3. The vehicle-mounted radar system according to claim 2, characterized in that, The transmitting array includes multiple transmitting subarrays; each transmitting subarray includes multiple transmitting elements; when the signal transmission mode is the multiple-input multiple-output transmission mode, each transmitting element transmits independently; when the signal transmission mode is the phased array transmission mode, each transmitting element in each transmitting subarray transmits coherently, and each transmitting subarray transmits coherently; when the signal transmission mode is the hybrid transmission mode, each transmitting element in each transmitting subarray transmits coherently, and each transmitting subarray transmits independently.

4. The vehicle-mounted radar system according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that, The receiving array includes multiple receiving subarrays; each receiving subarray includes multiple receiving elements; when the signal transmission mode is the multiple-input multiple-output transmission mode, each receiving element receives independently; when the signal transmission mode is the phased array transmission mode, each receiving element in each receiving subarray receives coherently, and each receiving subarray receives coherently; when the signal transmission mode is the hybrid transmission mode, each receiving element receives independently, or each receiving element in each receiving subarray receives coherently, and each receiving subarray receives independently.

5. The vehicle-mounted radar system according to claim 2, characterized in that, The decision module is used to input the first data into the trained decision model and obtain the mode selection instruction output by the decision model; the first data includes communication data and / or detection data.

6. The vehicle-mounted radar system according to claim 2, characterized in that, The transmission signal processing module includes: a mode activation unit, a communication signal generation unit, a communication signal modulation unit, a radar signal generation unit, a radar signal modulation unit, a framing unit, and a waveform generator; the mode activation unit is used to activate the communication signal generation unit and / or the radar signal generation unit based on the operating mode; the communication signal generation unit is used to generate a first communication signal corresponding to the second data; the communication signal modulation unit is used to modulate the first communication signal; the radar signal generation unit is used to generate a first radar signal corresponding to the second data; the radar signal modulation unit is used to modulate the first radar signal; the framing unit is used to combine the modulated first communication signal and / or the modulated first radar signal into an integrated data frame based on the signal transmission mode; the waveform generator is used to generate the first target signal based on the integrated data frame.

7. The vehicle-mounted radar system according to claim 2, characterized in that, The receiving signal processing module includes a demodulation unit, a signal identification unit, a communication signal processing unit, and a radar signal processing unit; the demodulation unit is used to demodulate the second target signal; the signal identification unit is used to identify the second communication signal and the second radar signal in the demodulated second target signal; the communication signal processing unit is used to process the second communication signal to acquire communication data; The radar signal processing unit is used to process the second communication signal and acquire detection data.

8. The vehicle-mounted radar system according to claim 3, characterized in that, The transmitter array includes a coherent synchronization bus and multiple phase shifters; The coherent synchronization bus and multiple phase shifters are used to adjust the phase of at least one of the transmitting array elements to synchronize the phases of each of the transmitting subarrays, or to synchronize the phases of each of the transmitting array elements included in each of the transmitting subarrays.

9. A method of operating a vehicle-mounted radar system as described in any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that, include: The decision module determines the operating mode and signal transmission mode of the vehicle radar system based on the first data received by the vehicle radar system. The operating modes are communication mode, radar mode, and integrated radar and communication mode; The signal transmission modes include multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) transmission mode, phased array transmission mode, and hybrid transmission mode that combines MIMO and phased array.

10. The method of operating the vehicle-mounted radar system according to claim 9, characterized in that, After determining the operating mode and signal transmission mode of the vehicle-mounted radar system based on the first data received by the vehicle-mounted radar system, the method includes: the decision module generating a mode selection instruction based on the operating mode and signal transmission mode of the vehicle-mounted radar system, and sending the mode selection instruction to the transmission signal processing module and the reception signal processing module of the vehicle-mounted radar system; the mode selection instruction is used to indicate the operating mode and signal transmission mode of the vehicle-mounted radar system; the transmission signal processing module processing the second data based on the mode selection instruction to generate a first target signal, and controlling the transmission array of the vehicle-mounted radar system to transmit the first target signal; the radar waveform of the first target signal corresponds to the signal transmission mode; the second data is determined according to the operating mode; the reception signal processing module controlling the reception array of the vehicle-mounted radar system to receive the second target signal based on the mode selection instruction, and acquiring the first data carried by the second target signal.

11. The method of operating the vehicle-mounted radar system according to claim 10, characterized in that, The decision module determines the operating mode and signal transmission mode of the vehicle-mounted radar system based on the first data received by the vehicle-mounted radar system, including: the decision module inputs the first data into a trained decision model and obtains the mode selection instruction output by the decision model; the first data includes communication data and / or detection data.

12. The method of operating the vehicle-mounted radar system according to claim 10, characterized in that, The transmission signal processing module processes the second data based on the mode selection instruction to generate a first target signal and controls the transmission array to transmit the first target signal, including: when the operating mode is the hybrid transmission mode, the mode activation unit of the transmission signal processing module activates the communication signal generation unit and the radar signal generation unit; the communication signal generation unit generates a first communication signal corresponding to the second data, and the radar signal generation unit generates a first radar signal corresponding to the second data; the communication signal modulation unit of the transmission signal processing module modulates the first communication signal, and the radar signal modulation unit of the transmission signal processing module modulates the first radar signal; the framing unit of the transmission signal processing module combines the modulated first communication signal and the modulated first radar signal into an integrated data frame based on the signal transmission mode; the waveform generator of the transmission signal processing module generates the first target signal based on the integrated data frame and controls the transmission array to transmit the first target signal.

13. The method of operating the vehicle-mounted radar system according to claim 10, characterized in that, The transmission signal processing module processes the second data based on the mode selection instruction to generate a first target signal, and controls the transmission array to transmit the first target signal, including: when the working mode is the communication mode, the mode activation unit of the transmission signal processing module activates the communication signal generation unit; the communication signal generation unit generates a first communication signal corresponding to the second data; the communication signal modulation unit of the transmission signal processing module modulates the first communication signal; the framing unit of the transmission signal processing module assembles the modulated first communication signal into an integrated data frame based on the signal transmission mode; the waveform generator of the transmission signal processing module generates the first target signal based on the integrated data frame and controls the transmission array to transmit the first target signal.

14. The method of operating the vehicle-mounted radar system according to claim 10, characterized in that, The receiving signal processing module, based on the mode selection instruction, controls the receiving array to receive the second target signal and acquire the first data carried by the second target signal, including: the demodulation unit of the receiving signal processing module demodulating the second target signal; the signal identification unit of the receiving signal processing module identifying the second communication signal and the second radar signal in the demodulated second target signal; if the demodulated second target signal includes the second communication signal, the communication signal processing unit of the transmitting signal processing module processes the second communication signal to acquire communication data; and if the demodulated second target signal includes the second radar signal, the radar signal processing unit processes the second radar signal to acquire detection data.

15. A vehicle, characterized in that, include: At least one vehicle-mounted radar system as described in any one of claims 1 to 8.

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