FMCW Radar Virtual Antenna Arrays Angle Accuracy
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) radar systems face limitations in accurately determining the angle of arrival of objects due to the limited number of physical antennas, which restricts the spatial resolution and accuracy of object location determination.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of virtual antenna arrays in an FMCW system, where multiple transmitters and receivers generate and process distinct FMCW signals independently, allowing for the creation of a virtual antenna array that enhances spatial resolution by treating the signals as if they were received by multiple antennas, thereby improving angle determination accuracy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If multiple physical antennas are used to improve angle determination accuracy, then measurement precision improves, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates virtual antenna array signals by processing received FMCW signals to generate signals that correspond to antenna positions where no physical antennas exist. This copying approach allows the system to achieve the measurement precision of a large physical antenna array while maintaining the simplicity of a smaller physical array, directly resolving the contradiction between accuracy and complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from a one-dimensional physical antenna array to a two-dimensional virtual antenna array by combining signals from multiple transmitters and receivers. This dimensional expansion enables the system to achieve higher angle determination accuracy without proportionally increasing the number of physical antennas, thus resolving the technical contradiction
2Measurement precision
If the number of physical antennas is increased to improve spatial resolution, then measurement precision improves, but the system becomes more complex and expensive
Solution Approach 1:
The patent generates virtual antenna array signals that replicate the response of additional physical antennas would provide. By processing the received signals through specific algorithms, the system creates copies of antenna positions, achieving enhanced spatial resolution without the need to physically install and configure additional antennas
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the signals from multiple transmitters and receivers to form virtual antenna array signals. This combining approach allows the system to achieve the spatial resolution of a larger antenna array by intelligently processing and merging existing signal sources, thereby avoiding the complexity of adding more physical antennas
Data Source
AI summary
In described examples, a frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) radar system comprises a first FMCW device that includes a first processor and a second FMCW device that includes a second processor. The first and second processors respectively receive first and second set of FMCW signals corresponding to a field of view (FOV), and—independently from each other—process the first and second sets of FMCW signals to respectively generate first and second sets of virtual antenna array signals. The second FMCW device transmits the second set of virtual antenna array signals to the first FMCW device. The first processor determines angle of arrival information with respect to one or more objects in the FOV in response to the first and second sets of virtual antenna array signals.