Beam Former Module for Electronic Array Data Rate Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Electronic systems with a large number of sensor and/or actuator elements face challenges in efficiently acquiring, processing, and transmitting data, leading to high power consumption and complexity, which can negatively impact data quality.
Innovation Solution
The electronic system incorporates a beam former module that controls a plurality of sensing and/or actuating elements to form a controllable beam, applying time delays to elements for high-resolution measurements, beam focusing, and steering, while also utilizing a sub-array definition module to reduce data complexity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If individually sampling every sensor and/or actuator element, then measurement precision is improved, but data rate and power consumption increase massively
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the electronic array into multiple sub-arrays that can be independently controlled and sampled. Instead of sampling all elements simultaneously, the system samples sub-arrays sequentially, reducing the overall data rate and power consumption while maintaining measurement precision through the beam forming process that reconstructs the full signal from the sub-array samples.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines multiple sensor elements into sub-arrays that are sampled together as a unit. By merging the sampling of multiple elements into coordinated sub-array operations with beam forming, the system achieves efficient data acquisition that reduces total data rate while preserving the information content that would otherwise require individual sampling of all elements.
2Measurement precision
If individually sampling every sensor and/or actuator element, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the electronic array into manageable sub-arrays that can be controlled and sampled independently. This segmentation reduces the complexity of the sampling system by allowing sequential operation of sub-arrays rather than simultaneous individual sampling of all elements, thereby reducing the complexity of the data acquisition architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The beam forming process acts as an intermediary that reconstructs the complete signal from the subsampled data. Instead of directly sampling all elements individually, the system uses beam forming algorithms to interpolate and reconstruct the full signal, reducing the direct complexity of the sampling system while maintaining measurement precision.
3Device complexity
If reducing data rate and power consumption, then device complexity is reduced, but image quality may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The beam forming process incorporates feedback mechanisms where the system continuously adjusts the sampling and processing parameters based on the reconstructed image quality. By using feedback from the beam forming calculations, the system optimizes the balance between reduced data rate and maintained image quality, ensuring that the subsampled data adequately represents the original signal.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent dynamically changes sampling parameters such as the size and composition of sub-arrays, the timing of sampling, and beam forming parameters to optimize the balance between data rate reduction and image quality maintenance. By adapting these parameters based on the specific imaging requirements and available data, the system achieves efficient compression while preserving critical image information.
Data Source
AI summary
The disclosure relates to an electronic system comprising:an electronic array of a plurality of sensing and/or actuating elements;a control unit, which is coupled to the electronic, for controlling the electronic array; anda data processing unit for receiving data from the electronic array and processing the received data;wherein the electronic system further comprises a beam former module, wherein the beam former module is configured for addressing the plurality of sensing and/or actuating elements for forming a beam.