Abstract: A multi-mode radar antenna apparatus is provided. The apparatus includes a transmitting antenna section comprising a first plurality of transmitting antennas configured to a transmit a steerable mode signal, a second plurality of transmitting antennas configured to a transmit an imaging mode signal, and a third plurality of transmitting antennas configured to a transmit an imaging mode signal and a steerable mode signal, and a receiving antenna section comprising a plurality of receiving antennas.

Abstract: A vehicle, radar system of a vehicle and method of extending a range of the radar system. The radar system includes a transmitter antenna, a receiver antenna and a processor. The transmitter antenna transmits a reference signal. The receiver antenna receives an echo signal in response to reflection of the reference signal from an object located at a distance outside of the range limit of the radar system, wherein the range limit indicating a frequency sampling range. The processor generates a frequency peak for the object from the received echo signal, wherein the frequency peak lies outside of the frequency sampling range, shifts the frequency peak to within the frequency sampling range, and determines a range of the object using the frequency-shifted peak.

Abstract: A vehicle radar system and calibration method that provide for system calibration so that target object parameters can be calculated with improved accuracy. Generally speaking, the calibration method uses a number of hypothesized calibration matrices, which represent educated guesses for possible system or array calibrations, to obtain a number of beamforming images. A blurring metric is then derived for each beamforming image, where the blurring metric is generally representative of the quality or resolution of the beamforming image. The method then selects hypothesized calibration matrices based on their blurring metrics, where the selected matrices are associated with the blurring metrics having the best beamforming image resolution (e.g., the least amount of image blurriness). The selected hypothesized calibration matrices are then used to generate new calibration matrices, which in turn can be used to calibrate the vehicle radar system so that more accurate target object parameters can be obtained.

Abstract: System and method of controlling operation of a device in real-time. The system includes an optical sensor having a steerable optical field of view for obtaining image data and a radar unit having a steerable radar field of view for obtaining radar data. A controller may be configured to steer a first one of the optical sensor and the radar unit to a first region of interest and a second one of the optical sensor and the radar unit to the second region of interest. The controller may be configured to steer both the optical sensor and the radar unit to the first region of interest. The radar data and the image data are fused to obtain a target location and a target velocity. The controller is configured to control operation of the device based in part on at least one of the target location and the target velocity.

Abstract: A radar system for use in a vehicle may include a radar transmitter structured to transmit a radar signal having a waveform; and a controller operably connected to the radar transmitter and configured to control the waveform. The waveform may be characterized by a waveform parameter. The controller may be configured to set a value of the waveform parameter based on a present operational state of the vehicle, thereby generating an updated waveform. The radar transmitter may be structured to transmit an updated radar signal having the updated waveform.

Abstract: System and method of controlling operation of an optical sensor in a device. The optical sensor is configured to employ a scan pattern to scan respective portions of a full field of view. A navigation sensor is configured to obtain location coordinates of the device. An inertial sensor is configured to obtain an acceleration data of the device in a plurality of directions. A controller is configured to determine a position of the device at the present time based in part on the location coordinates and the acceleration data. The controller is configured to determine a sun striking zone based in part on a relative position of the sun and the device. When a sun overlap region between the respective portions of the full field of view and sun striking zone exceeds a first overlap threshold, operation of the optical sensor is modified.

Abstract: An example method for performing a joint radon transform association includes detecting, by a processing device, a target object to track relative to a vehicle. The method further includes performing, by the processing device, the joint radon transform association on the target object to generate association candidates. The method further includes tracking, by the processing device, the target object relative to the vehicle using the association candidates. The method further includes controlling, by the processing device, the vehicle based at least in part on tracking the target object.

Abstract: A method and system include transmitting transmit signals from a radar system. The transmit signals are linear frequency modulated continuous wave signals. The method includes receiving reflected signals at the radar system based on reflection of at least at subset of the transmit signals by one or more objects. A range from the radar system associated with each of the reflected signals corresponds with a frequency of the reflected signal. The reflected signals are processed to identify and locate the one or more objects. Processing includes applying an adaptive range-selective gain control (ARSGC) to control a gain corresponding with each of the reflected signals based on the range associated with the reflected signal.

Abstract: A system and method to perform target detection includes transmitting frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) pulses as chirps from a radar system. The method also includes receiving reflections resulting from the chirps, and processing the reflections to obtain a range-chirp map for each beam associated with the transmitting. Curve detection is performed on the range-chirp map for each beam, and one or more targets is detected based on the curve detection.

Abstract: A system and method to perform multi-target detection in a code division multiple access (CDMA) radar system involve transmitting, from each transmitter among T transmitters, a transmitted signal with a different code, and receiving, at each receiver among one or more receivers, a received signal that includes reflections resulting from each of the transmitted signals with the different codes. The method includes processing the received signal at each of the one or more receivers by implementing T processing chains. Each of the T processing chains is iterative. The method also includes detecting an object at each completed iteration at each of the T processing chains, and subtracting a subtraction signal representing a contribution of the object to the received signal prior to subsequent iterations.

Abstract: A receiver apparatus is provided. The apparatus includes a single field effect transistor mixer comprising a gate, a source and a drain, wherein one of the source or the drain is configured to receive a first signal from a first low noise amplifier at a receiving frequency and another of the source or the drain is configured to output a second signal at an intermediate frequency to a second low noise amplifier; and a local oscillator configured to apply a third signal to the gate.

Abstract: A vehicle radar system, such as a multiple input multiple output (MIMO) radar system, for estimating a Doppler frequency shift and a method of using the same. In one example, a modulated signal is mixed with an orthogonal code sequence and is transmitted by a transmit antenna array with a plurality of transmitting antennas. The signals reflect off of a target object and are received by a receive antenna array with a plurality of receiving antennas. Each of the received signals, which likely includes a Doppler frequency shift, is processed and mixed with a number of frequency shift hypotheses that are intended to offset the Doppler frequency shift and result in a series of correlation values. The frequency shift hypothesis with the highest correlation value is selected and used to correct for the Doppler frequency shift so that more accurate target object parameters, such as velocity, can be obtained.

Abstract: A method and apparatus that compensate radar channel length variation are provided. The method includes transmitting a signal from the transmitter, determining a response of each of the receivers to the transmitted signal, and storing the determined responses; for each stored response of the stored responses, calculating a path length of the transmitted signal; for each of the transmitters, determining and storing a median receive path difference in the path length between a transmitter and each receiver; for each receiver of the receivers, determining and storing a median receive path difference in the path length between a receiver and each transmitter; and compensating for the median receive path difference and the median transmit path difference by performing a frequency shift on or time delaying a signal to be transmitted by a transmitter or received by a receiver.

Abstract: A system and method to resolve ambiguity in a radar system involve detecting one or more objects with the radar system. The detecting includes obtaining range, azimuth, and an ambiguous range rate of a first object of the one or more objects. A plurality of Kalman filters are generated with state variables that include parameters based on the range, the azimuth, and the ambiguous range rate. Each of the plurality of Kalman filters provides a different estimate for an unambiguous range rate. The method also includes updating the plurality of Kalman filters using additional detections by the radar system, selecting a selected Kalman filter from among the plurality of Kalman filters that exhibits a highest probability mass among a plurality of probability mass corresponding with and derived from the plurality of Kalman filters, and determining the unambiguous range rate of the object using the selected Kalman filter.

Abstract: An active quadrature generation circuit configured to provide an in-phase output signal and a quadrature output signal based on an input signal and a method of fabricating the active quadrature generation circuit on an integrated circuit are described. The circuit includes an input node to receive the input signal and a first transistor including a collector connected to a power supply pin. The circuit also includes a second transistor including a base connected to the power supply pin, the second transistor differing in size from the first transistor by a factor of K, wherein the in-phase output signal and the quadrature output signal are generated based on an inherent phase difference of 90 degrees between a current at a collector of the first transistor and a current at a base of the second transistor.

Abstract: Deep learning in a radar system includes obtaining unaliased time samples from a first radar system. A method includes under-sampling the un-aliased time samples to obtain aliased time samples of a first configuration, matched filtering the un-aliased time samples to obtain an un-aliased data cube and the aliased time samples to obtain an aliased data cube, and using a first neural network to obtain a de-aliased data cube. A first neural network is trained to obtain a trained first neural network. The under-sampling of the un-aliased time samples is repeated to obtain second aliased time samples of a second configuration. The method includes training a second neural network to obtain a trained second neural network, comparing results to choose a selected neural network corresponding with a selected configuration, and using the selected neural network with a second radar system that has the selected configuration to detect one or more objects.

Abstract: A system and method to use deep learning for super resolution in a radar system include obtaining first-resolution time samples from reflections based on transmissions by a first-resolution radar system of multiple frequency-modulated signals. The first-resolution radar system includes multiple transmit elements and multiple receive elements. The method also includes reducing resolution of the first-resolution time samples to obtain second-resolution time samples, implementing a matched filter on the first-resolution time samples to obtain a first-resolution data cube and on the second-resolution time samples to obtain a second-resolution data cube, processing the second-resolution data cube with a neural network to obtain a third-resolution data cube, and training the neural network based on a first loss obtained by comparing the first-resolution data cube with the third-resolution data cube. The neural network is used with a second-resolution radar system to detect one or more objects.

Abstract: A system and method to achieve angular ambiguity resolution in a two-dimensional Doppler synthetic aperture radar system include transmitting pulses using a plurality of transmit elements during movement of a platform on which the system is mounted. Reflections are received from a target resulting from the pulses and the reflections are processed to determine a Doppler measurement. The processing includes isolating movement of the target in the Doppler measurement, and determining a target azimuth angle and a target elevation angle to the target based on an iterative process that includes estimating the target elevation angle or the target azimuth angle and then determining the target azimuth angle or the target elevation angle, respectively, based on a beamforming matrix. The beamforming matrix indicates amplitude and phase at each azimuth angle and each elevation angle among a set of azimuth angles and a set of elevation angles.

Abstract: A vehicle, radar system for the vehicle and method of operating the vehicle is disclosed. The radar system includes a transmitter, a receiver and a processor. The transmitter transmits a source signal into a region proximate the vehicle. The receiver receives a reflected signal formed by reflection of the source signal from an object in the region. The processor obtains non-linear terms of a phase from the reflected signal and resolves a Doppler ambiguity of the object using the non-linear terms. A navigation system navigates the vehicle with respect to the object based on the resolved Doppler ambiguity.

Abstract: A method of synchronizing a plurality of spatially distributed multi-input multi-output (MIMO) radar systems includes designating one of the plurality of MIMO radar systems that includes a linear frequency modulator as a master MIMO radar system, and designating each of the other plurality of MIMO radar systems as slave MIMO radar systems. Each of the slave MIMO radar systems receives an output of the linear frequency modulator. A synchronization signal is sent from the linear frequency modulator through the modulator splitter to each of the slave MIMO radar systems over respective cables, and a return signal is sent from each of the slave MIMO radar systems to the master MIMO radar system over the respective cables. A time delay is determined between the master MIMO radar system and each of the slave MIMO radar systems based on a frequency difference between the synchronization signal and the respective return signal.