Abstract: A method of direction of arrival estimation with an automotive spread radar system. The automotive spread radar system includes a plurality of at least two transceiver antenna units, which are configured to work in a MIMO configuration, wherein the transceiver antenna units are arranged at a priori known positions. The automotive spread radar system is configured to determine, for each transceiver unit antenna unit of the plurality of transceiver antenna units, a range of a target reflecting radar waves that have been transmitted by at least the specific transceiver antenna unit by reading out a plurality of range gates assigned to a specific transceiver antenna unit. The method and radar system are capable of estimating a direction of arrival without the need of ensuring a synchronization of antennas on the scale of a radar carrier frequency.

Abstract: A camera based driver assistance system or vehicle safety system having a camera head including at least one imager unit for recording image data and converting said image data into a digital image signal and a serializing unit for providing said digital image signal at an output of said camera head. The camera system further includes a main processor unit connected to the output of said camera head by means of a data link connection for receiving and processing said digital image signal from said camera head. The camera head includes at least one bloc containing calibration data for said imager and a digital control circuit, said bloc and/or said digital control circuit being operatively coupled to said serializing unit and configured in such a way that said calibration data are transferable to said serializing unit and subsequently transmittable to said main processor unit to be used in the processing of said digital signal from said camera head.

Abstract: An electrical interconnection. In order to efficiently conduct electrical current in small-scale structures and at high frequencies, the electrical interconnection has a channel portion which includes at least one channel layer made of a weak topological insulator material and having a top surface with a plurality of grooves extending from a first terminal to a second terminal of the electrical interconnection, wherein the top surface and a bottom surface of each groove are insulating, whereas each side surface of each groove includes a conducting zone with a pair of topologically protected one-dimensional electron channels.

Abstract: A capacitance measurement circuit for determining a sense current of a capacitive sensor with a sense electrode and a guard electrode. The measurement circuit includes a periodic signal voltage source, a sense current measurement circuit configured for determining the sense current with reference to a reference voltage, and at least one remotely controllable switch member. In a first switching state, the at least one switch member electrically connects the sense current measurement circuit to the periodic signal voltage source for providing a first reference voltage, and in a second switching state, the at least one switch member electrically connects the sense current measurement circuit to a second reference voltage that is different from the first reference voltage.

Abstract: A method for determining a distance comprises: providing at least two phase measurements made with modulated light of different modulation wavelengths, each phase measurement being indicative of the distance up to an integer multiple of a respective modulation wavelength; providing a set of possible wraparound count combinations; for each one of the possible wraparound count combinations, calculating a combination of unwrapped phase hypotheses corresponding to the at least two phase measurements; and selecting a most plausible combination of unwrapped phase hypotheses among the combinations of unwrapped phase hypotheses and calculating the distance based upon the selected most plausible combination of unwrapped phase hypotheses.

Abstract: A camera system comprises a 3D TOF camera for acquiring a camera-perspective range image of a scene and an image processor for processing the range image. The image processor contains a position and orientation calibration routine implemented therein in hardware and/or software, which position and orientation calibration routine, when executed by the image processor, detects one or more planes within a range image acquired by the 3D TOF camera, selects a reference plane among the at least one or more planes detected and computes position and orientation parameters of the 3D TOF camera with respect to the reference plane, such as, e.g., elevation above the reference plane and/or camera roll angle and/or camera pitch angle.

Abstract: An impedance measurement circuit for determining a sense current of a guard-sense capacitive sensor operated in loading mode. The circuit includes a periodic signal voltage source for providing a periodic measurement voltage, a sense current measurement circuit, a differential amplifier that is configured to sense a complex voltage difference between the sense electrode and the guard electrode, a demodulator for obtaining, with reference to the periodic measurement voltage, an in-phase component and a quadrature component of the sensed complex voltage difference, and control loops for receiving the in-phase component and the quadrature component, respectively. An output signal of the first control loop and an output signal of the second control loop are usable to form a complex voltage that serves as a complex reference voltage for the sense current measurement circuit.

Abstract: A capacitive sensor that includes: a sensing electrode having a capacitance to be measured; an alternating voltage source, configured to apply an alternating voltage to the sensing electrode; a capacitive first transfer device; a measurement circuit configured to measure the capacitance of the sensing electrode; and a switching arrangement. The switching arrangement is configured to alternately, in a first switching state, connect the first transfer device to the sensing electrode to enable a charge transfer from the sensing electrode to the first transfer device and, in a second switching state, connect the first transfer device to the measurement circuit to enable a charge transfer from the first transfer device to the measurement circuit.

Abstract: A method for obtaining an angle-Doppler signature for a target using sparse arrays in multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) radar, the MIMO radar including a transmit antenna array, the transmit antenna array being at least one-dimensional (e.g. 2-D, 3-D or 4-D) and having a plurality of antenna elements. The method includes generating transmit signals for transmission by the transmit antenna array, the transmit signals defining at least a first transmit trajectory (e.g. circular) of a phase center within the transmit antenna array, and transmitting the transmit signals using Amplitude Modulation on the transmit antenna array. The method further includes receiving receive signals from the target, the receive signals resulting from the incidence of the transmit signals upon the target, and determining the angle-Doppler signature from the receive signals. The first transmit trajectory is such that, in operation, the phase center undergoes non-linear motion within the transmit antenna array.

Abstract: A method of orthogonal modulation of radar waves of a phase-modulated continuous wave radar system. The method includes selecting an equidistant bi-phased or multi-phased phase-modulation sequence, phase-modulating the continuous radar wave, and transmitting the orthogonal phase-modulated continuous radar wave towards a scene. The method includes generating a detection sequence (s) by applying an outer coding (H) to the phase-modulation sequence, selecting a communication range (C) in the complex number plane, based on the selected phase-modulation, generating a communication sequence (c) having a plurality of sequence members, mapping the communication sequence (c) into the communication range (C) by applying an injective mapping function (?) to the sequence members, and calculating a numerical product of members of the detection sequence (s) with members of an image of the mapped communication sequence (c).

Abstract: A thermoelectric device having a channel portion which includes at least one channel layer made of a topological insulator material and having a top surface with at least one groove, wherein each side surface of each groove includes a conducting zone with a pair of topologically protected one-dimensional electron channels. Each channel layer includes at least one n-region and at least one p-region which are alternatingly disposed and extend from a first end to a second end of the channel layer, each n-region comprising at least one n-groove running from a first electrode at the first end to a second electrode at the second end and each p-region includes at least one p-groove running from a second electrode to a first electrode, wherein the first and second electrodes are alternatingly disposed to connect the p-grooves and n-grooves of neighboring regions, whereby all p-grooves and n-grooves are connected in series.

Abstract: A method for determining a sense impedance of a guard-sense capacitive sensor operated in loading mode, the sensor having an electrically conductive sense electrode and an electrically conductive guard electrode. The method includes: providing a periodic guard voltage to the guard electrode; sequentially providing periodic reference voltages Vrefi via a reference impedance Zref, to the sense node; for each reference voltage, determining the value Imi of the current applied to the sense node; determining the sense reference voltage Vs to be provided to the sense node, which would lead to a current with an amplitude of zero; and calculating the unknown sense impedance Zx of the sense electrode, with reference to the sense reference voltage Vs, the periodic guard voltage Vg, and the reference impedance Zref.

Abstract: A method and system for real-time noise removal and image enhancement of high-dynamic range (HDR) images. The method includes receiving an HDR input image I and operating processing circuitry for (i) applying a first edge-preserving filter (e.g. guided filter) to the input image I, thereby generating a first image component B1 and a first set of linear coefficients ?i,1; (ii) applying a second edge-preserving filter (e.g. guided filter) to the input image I, thereby generating a second image component B2 and a second set of linear coefficients ?i,2; (iii) generating a plausibility mask P from a combination of the first set of linear coefficients ?i,1 and the second set of linear coefficients ?i,2, the plausibility mask P indicating spatial detail within the input image I; and (iv) generating an output image O based on first image component B1, the second image component B2 and the plausibility mask P.

Abstract: A pressure sensor, e.g. for being arranged in the sole structure of an article of footwear, for measuring a pressure exerted by the wearer's foot. The pressure sensor has one or more pressure-sensing cells. Each cell has a first flexible carrier film and a second flexible carrier film, the first and second carrier films being attached to one another by a spacer film having an opening, a plurality of first electrodes arranged on the first carrier film and a plurality of second electrodes arranged on the second carrier film. The plurality of first electrodes has a first group of electrodes and a second group of electrodes. The first and second groups of electrodes are arranged so as to interdigitate with delimiting gaps there between. One or more electrically insulating overprints are arranged on the first carrier film so as to cover the gaps.

Abstract: The present disclosure relates to an apparatus and method for controlling object detection. The object detection control apparatus according to the present disclosure includes a determination device that determines a risk level, based on environmental information of a vehicle detected by first sensors, an object detection device that detects an object in the vehicle, based on information detected by a second sensor for detecting the object in the vehicle, an output device that outputs an alarm signal according to a set alarm condition when the object in the vehicle is detected, and a controller that controls an operation of the second sensor or the output device, based on the determined risk level.

Abstract: A capacitive detection device and capacitive detection system for use in a vehicle interior includes at least one electrically conductive wire, at least partially attached to a component of the vehicle interior, and at least one electrically conductive layer that is arranged in close proximity to the at least one electrically conductive wire, compared to a potential minimum distance to a vehicle occupant, wherein a galvanic connection between the at least one electrically conductive layer and the at least one electrically conductive wire is avoided.

Abstract: A radar sensor system and method for ascertaining whether an unattended child is present within an automotive vehicle. The radar sensor system carries out the method and includes a transmitter, at least one sensor, and processing circuitry. The method includes the steps of: illuminating at least one occupiable position within the vehicle with radiation of multiple frequencies; generating radar sensor signals from reflections of the transmitted radiation, a plurality of the radar sensor signals corresponding to different frequencies; and operating the processing circuitry for generating and determining if a first indicator value indicative of motion in the occupiable position satisfies a first predetermined criteria and, if so, generating and determining a second indicator value indicating a degree of repetitive pattern within the radar sensor signals, and determining presence of an unattended child in the vehicle if the second indicator value satisfies a second predetermined criteria.

Abstract: A capacitive vehicle seat occupancy detection and classification system includes an impedance measurement circuit and a control and evaluation unit. The impedance measurement circuit is configured for providing periodic electrical measurement signals to a capacitive sensor of N different fundamental frequencies, wherein N is a natural number of at least 3, and to determine a complex impedance from each of determined sense currents in the capacitive sensor. The control and evaluation unit is configured to determine a seat occupancy class for each one of the complex impedances determined at the at least N different fundamental frequencies, and to determine a final seat occupancy class derived by a majority decision among the determined seat occupancy classes.

Abstract: An interior lining element, for example for a passenger compartment of a vehicle, including a single-layer or multilayer decorative covering, the front side of which faces the passenger compartment and delimits the latter physically and, via the back side thereof, is in thermally conductive contact with a printed heater, where the heater has a plurality of flat resistance elements and at least two feed lines which are electrically highly conductive as compared with the resistance elements and via which the resistance elements can be looped into an electric circuit, and where in contact-making regions of the resistance elements and of the feed lines, one feed line and one resistance element are each printed overlapping each other.

Abstract: An impact sensor for a vehicle. The impact sensor includes at least one strain-sensitive sensor element which comprises a sensor material, and at least two terminals, between which the sensor material is electrically connected. The sensor material is a metal-containing carbon material.