Personal Radar Using Phase Measurement for Object Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional object detection systems are often costly, power-hungry, and inaccurate due to reliance on signal strength, time of flight, chirp, frequency modulation, or Doppler radar, and require steerable antennas or multiple radios, making them inefficient for detecting objects in crowded areas without direct line of sight.
Innovation Solution
A novel system using high-accuracy ranging methods with tightly synchronized clocks and phase measurements between antennas, allowing for detection of object presence and movement by measuring changes in wave-propagation path length, employing a single radio with a low-cost switch to select a single antenna from an array, and utilizing multiple frequencies to determine object size and speed.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If conventional radar methods (time of flight, chirp, frequency modulation, or Doppler radar) are used for object detection, then detection capability is achieved, but the system becomes costly, power-hungry, and inaccurate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces conventional radar signal processing methods with a camera-based optical system. Instead of using radio frequency transmitters and receivers with complex signal processing, the invention uses a camera to capture images and detect objects through image processing algorithms, thereby reducing power consumption while maintaining detection accuracy
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses a camera to create visual copies (images) of the environment and processes these copies to detect objects. This approach allows for accurate object detection without requiring the complex active sensing mechanisms of conventional radar, reducing both power consumption and cost
2Reliability
If steerable antennas or phase array antennas are used to detect objects, then detection capability is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces complex steerable or phase array antenna systems with a fixed camera system. The camera provides reliable object detection through its fixed position and field of view, eliminating the need for mechanically complex or electronically complex antenna steering mechanisms
Solution Approach 2:
The camera creates visual copies of the scene that can be analyzed to detect objects reliably. This approach achieves detection reliability without requiring the complex antenna systems that would otherwise be needed to scan and cover the same spatial area
3Device complexity
If simple RSS measurements are used to detect movements, then device complexity is reduced, but measurement precision and accuracy deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses camera images as visual copies to detect movement and object presence. By analyzing changes in the visual copies (images) over time, the system achieves high measurement precision for movement detection while keeping the device complexity low, as cameras and image processing are more accessible than precise RSS measurement systems
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach provides high-resolution path length measurements, significantly improving accuracy and reducing costs, enabling effective detection and tracking of objects in complex environments with minimal equipment, while being friendly to spectrum usage and avoiding interference.
Implementation Method 1
an antenna for transmitting an electromagnetic wave and receiving an echo signal from a target object
Implementation Method 2
high-accuracy ranging methods with tightly synchronized clocks and phase measurements between antennas, allowing for detection of object presence and movement by measuring changes in wave-propagation path length
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3
Figure 4A
AI summary
Systems and methods for providing personal radar, object presence detection, and object localization are provided. Multiple devices that perform high-resolution ranging can be operated to perform radar in an area, detect objects and motion of objects in the area, and generate a virtual steerable antenna.