Radar Antenna Array Dimensionality Reduction for Angular Resolution
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional radar systems require a large number of transmit and receive array elements to achieve high angular resolution, leading to increased design and processing complexity and costs.
Innovation Solution
A radar system that forms a virtual linear array and a virtual planar array using a reduced number of transmit and receive array elements, with a denser spacing in the linear array to ensure high angular resolution through calculation, allowing for accurate azimuth determination in both directions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a large quantity of transmit array elements and receive array elements are disposed to achieve high angular resolution, then angular resolution is improved, but design and processing difficulty is increased and costs are increased
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transforms the conventional two-dimensional planar array into a one-dimensional linear array configuration. By arranging transmit and receive array elements along a single line rather than in a plane, the system achieves high angular resolution in the elevation direction while significantly reducing the number of required elements. This dimensional reduction directly addresses the contradiction by maintaining measurement precision while reducing device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the geometric configuration parameter from a two-dimensional planar arrangement to a one-dimensional linear arrangement. This parameter change allows the system to achieve comparable angular resolution with fewer elements by exploiting the full three-dimensional space for signal reception, thereby reducing design and processing difficulty while maintaining high angular resolution.
2Measurement precision
If a large quantity of transmit array elements and receive array elements are disposed to achieve high angular resolution, then angular resolution is improved, but costs are increased
Solution Approach 1:
By transitioning from a planar two-dimensional array to a linear one-dimensional array, the patent reduces the quantity of array elements required while maintaining high angular resolution. The linear configuration allows elements to be spaced along a single axis, reducing the total number of elements needed compared to a planar arrangement that requires elements distributed across two axes.
Solution Approach 2:
The linear array configuration serves multiple functions: it achieves high angular resolution in the elevation direction, maintains a compact form factor, and reduces the quantity of elements required. This multi-functional design allows the system to achieve high measurement precision with reduced material quantity and lower costs.
3Measurement precision
If a dense uniform linear array is used to ensure large field of view and accurate azimuth calculation, then measurement precision is improved, but the number of array elements increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different spacing configurations to different directions: a dense linear arrangement in the elevation direction for high angular resolution, and a correspondingly sparse arrangement in the azimuth direction. This local quality differentiation allows the system to achieve high measurement precision where needed while reducing the total number of elements by allowing sparser spacing in directions where high resolution is not required.
Data Source
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AI summary
A radar system (400) and a vehicle are provided, so that when high angular resolution is obtained, a quantity of transmit antennas and a quantity of receive antennas are reduced, to reduce design and processing difficulty. The radar system (400) includes: a transmitter (401), configured to transmit a radar signal; and a receiver (402), configured to receive an echo signal obtained after the radar signal is reflected by a target, where a transmit antenna array of the transmitter (401) and a receive antenna array of the receiver (402) are used to form a virtual linear array and a virtual planar array, the virtual linear array includes a uniform linear array in a first direction, the virtual planar array includes a uniform planar array, and a first spacing between two adjacent array elements in the uniform linear array is less than a second spacing between two adjacent array elements in the first direction in the uniform planar array.