Radar System Ring Topology Embedded Processing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing automotive radar systems face challenges in separating objects in the direction of arrival dimension with sufficient resolution, particularly when the number of cascaded transceivers exceeds two, due to limited compute power and complex data interfaces.
Innovation Solution
A radar system comprising three transceivers arranged in a ring topology, with each transceiver equipped with an embedded processor for signal processing and an external processor for further data processing, allowing for efficient data distribution and processing to enhance direction of arrival estimation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If the number of cascaded transceivers is increased to improve direction of arrival resolution, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity increases and compute power requirements exceed available resources
Solution Approach 1:
The radar system divides the direction of arrival estimation task into two distinct stages: a first stage performed by embedded processors in each transceiver that processes received signals independently, and a second stage performed by a central processor that aggregates results from all transceivers. This segmentation allows multiple transceivers to be cascaded without proportionally increasing the computational burden on each individual device, thereby maintaining measurement precision while managing device complexity.
2Measurement precision
If more transceivers are cascaded to enhance direction of arrival estimation, then measurement precision is improved, but the compute power required exceeds available processing capacity
Solution Approach 1:
The computational workload is segmented between distributed embedded processors and a centralized processor. Each embedded processor performs only local signal processing and generates intermediate results, while the computationally intensive direction of arrival estimation is performed centrally. This segmentation enables the system to scale to multiple transceivers without requiring each device to have sufficient compute power to handle the full processing burden independently.
Solution Approach 2:
The embedded processors act as intermediaries that receive raw radar signals from antennas, perform initial processing to extract relevant features, and pass condensed results to the central processor. This intermediary role reduces the data volume and computational requirements transmitted across the system, enabling scalable architecture with multiple transceivers while maintaining manageable compute power requirements at each node.
3Measurement precision
If complex data interfaces are used to support multiple transceivers, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity and ease of operation deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The data interface is segmented into two distinct communication paths: simple interfaces between antennas and embedded processors that handle only local signal data, and a separate interface between embedded processors and the central processor that handles aggregated results. This segmentation eliminates the need for complex peer-to-peer communication protocols between multiple transceivers, thereby improving ease of operation while maintaining the ability to support multiple transceivers for enhanced measurement precision.
Data Source
AI summary
A radar system comprising: three transceivers wherein each transceiver is arranged to transmit output radar signals and receive reflected radar signals; the three transceivers are arranged in series such that at least a second transceiver of the three transceivers is communicatively coupled to a first transceiver and a third transceiver of the three transceivers, wherein the transceivers are arranged in a ring topology such that each transceiver is coupled in series to two neighbouring transceivers, and each transceiver comprises an embedded processor configured to perform signal processing tasks on received reflected radar signals; and an external processor communicatively coupled to at least one of the three transceivers wherein the at least one coupled transceiver is configured to transmit data to the external processor and wherein the external processor is configured to perform signal processing operations on the received data.