Radar Sensor Head Segmentation for Scalable Processing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current radar sensors with high driver assistance or automated driving functions face scalability issues due to the need for increased processing power and memory, leading to higher costs, larger size, and power losses, as microcontroller technology becomes insufficient for processing radar waves.
Innovation Solution
A radar sensor head design that includes a preprocessing unit, calibration data unit, and interface for connecting to a central control unit, where the processing of radar waves is minimized within the sensor head, with digitized data transmitted to a central unit for further processing, allowing for scalable and cost-effective system expansion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If processing power and memory are increased within the radar sensor to handle more complex radar wave processing, then performance is improved, but cost, size, and power losses increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system is divided into distributed radar sensor units and a central control unit. Each sensor unit performs only basic functions (transmission, reception, analog-to-digital conversion), while complex processing is segmented and performed centrally. This segmentation allows performance improvement without increasing individual sensor complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
Complex processing functions are extracted from the radar sensor units and relocated to a central control unit. The sensor units retain only essential functions (antenna, ADC, basic preprocessing), while memory and sophisticated algorithms are taken out and centralized, reducing individual sensor complexity while maintaining overall performance.
2Reliability
If more radar sensors are installed to increase system performance, then overall system capability is improved, but cost and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple distributed radar sensor units are merged into a unified system through a central control unit that aggregates data from all sensors. This allows the system to achieve high performance through multiple sensors while managing complexity centrally rather than duplicating complex processing in each sensor.
Solution Approach 2:
The central control unit serves as a universal processing platform that handles data from multiple different radar sensor units. This multi-functional approach allows one central unit to replace what would otherwise require multiple complex individual sensors, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining performance.
3Loss of information
If extensive data processing is performed internally in each radar sensor, then data transmission to the vehicle is reduced, but processing power requirements and memory size increase
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of performing complete processing in each sensor, only partial processing (analog-to-digital conversion and basic preprocessing) is performed at the sensor level. The excessive action of full processing is centralized, allowing each sensor to use minimal memory while the central unit handles comprehensive processing requirements.
Data Source
AI summary
A radar sensor head for a radar system. The radar sensor head includes at least one transmitting antenna for generating and at least one receiving antenna for receiving radar waves; a preprocessing unit for defined preprocessing of received data; an interface for connecting the radar sensor head to a data line; and a calibration data unit for at least partially calibrating the transmitting antenna and/or the receiving antenna, calibration data for the transmitting antenna and the receiving antenna being stored using the calibration data unit.