RF Environment Mapping Using Motion Occlusion and MTI Filtering
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Solution Overview
Problem
Electronic devices with wireless capabilities face challenges in achieving sufficient resolution in wireless sensing operations due to limited resources, leading to inadequate detection of objects around the device.
Innovation Solution
The device employs wireless circuitry with one or more antennas to transmit and receive radio-frequency signals, using a moving target indicator (MTI) filter to detect stationary objects by analyzing changes in sensor data caused by moving objects, allowing for environment mapping with higher spatial resolution and minimal resource consumption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If wireless sensing operations are performed using limited antennas and resources, then device resource consumption is minimized, but measurement precision and spatial resolution deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces moving objects as intermediaries to indirectly sense stationary objects. Instead of directly measuring reflections from stationary objects with multiple antennas, the system uses moving objects that pass between the antenna and stationary objects to perturb the radio-frequency signals, thereby detecting stationary object locations with a single antenna. This intermediary approach resolves the contradiction by achieving high measurement precision through motion-based perturbations rather than through antenna array complexity.
2Measurement precision
If motion-based environment mapping is performed using MTI filter to detect stationary objects through moving objects, then spatial resolution is improved, but device complexity and processing requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system leverages the periodic or repeated motion of objects through the sensing field to accumulate environmental information. By having moving objects repeatedly pass through different positions between the antenna and stationary objects, the MTI filter can accumulate perturbations over multiple passes, building up a high-resolution environment map through temporal integration rather than through complex spatial processing.
Solution Approach 2:
The MTI filter implements feedback by continuously comparing current sensor data with previous data to identify perturbations caused by moving objects. This feedback mechanism allows the system to distinguish between stationary background signals and motion-induced perturbations, thereby extracting environmental information with high precision while keeping processing requirements manageable through iterative refinement.
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 enables the generation of a detailed environment map with higher spatial resolution using fewer antennas, effectively detecting edges or boundaries of the environment while minimizing device resource usage.
Implementation Method 1
The sensing circuitry may transmit sensing signals using one or more antennas. The sensing circuitry may receive corresponding reflected signals using the one or more antennas.
Implementation Method 2
The sensor data may be indicative of one or more moving objects moving through positions that occlude lines of sight between the electronic device and one or more stationary objects behind the moving objects.
Data Source
AI summary
An electronic device may include radio-frequency sensing circuitry that transmits sensing signals and that receives reflected signals using one or more antennas. The sensing circuitry may generate digital sensor data based on the reflected signals. The sensor data may be indicative of moving objects moving through positions that occlude lines of sight between the electronic device and stationary objects behind the moving objects. The sensor circuitry may detect the locations on the stationary objects based on changes to the sensor data associated with motion of the moving objects through the positions. The sensor circuitry may accumulate an environment map of the detected locations as the moving objects move about the environment over time. This may allow the sensor circuitry to generate the environment map with high spatial resolution using as few antennas as possible. The sensor circuitry may detect boundaries of the environment based on the environment map.