Patents by Inventor Maik Brett

Maik Brett has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 11927664
    Abstract: In one example, a radar circuit uses computer processing circuitry for processing data corresponding to reflection signals via a sparse array. Output data indicative of signal magnitude associated with the reflection signals is generated, and then angle-of-arrival information is discerned therefrom by (e.g., iteratively): correlating the output data with at least one spatial frequency support vector indicative of a correlation peak for the output data; generating upper-side and lower-side support vectors which are neighbors along the spatial frequency spectrum for said at least one spatial frequency support vector, and providing, via a correlation of the upper-side and lower-side support vectors and said at least one spatial frequency support vector, at least one new vector that is more refined along the spatial frequency spectrum for said at least one spatial frequency support vector.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 25, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 12, 2024
    Assignee: NXP B.V.
    Inventors: Ryan Haoyun Wu, Jun Li, Maik Brett, Michael Andreas Staudenmaier
  • Patent number: 11906651
    Abstract: Exemplary aspects are directed to a radar-based detection circuit or system with signal reception circuitry to receive reflection signals in response to radar signals transmitted towards objects. The system may include logic/computer circuitry and a multi-input multi-output (MIMO) virtual array to enhance resolution or remove ambiguities otherwise present in processed reflection signals. The MIMO array may include sparse linear arrays, each being associated with a unique antenna-element spacing from among a set of unique co-prime antenna-element spacings.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 25, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2024
    Assignee: NXP B.V.
    Inventors: Ryan Haoyun Wu, Jun Li, Maik Brett, Michael Andreas Staudenmaier
  • Publication number: 20230418897
    Abstract: Performing a Fast Fourier Transformation (FFT) with increased resolution by applying an adaptive left shift to signed binary integers of an input of a radix kernel and adaptive right shift to signed binary integers of an output of a butterfly of the radix kernel which is based on a leading bit count of the input. The adaptive left shift increases a resolution of the radix kernel computation and the adaptive right shift determines a number of bits of the increased resolution preserved in an output of the radix kernel.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 16, 2022
    Publication date: December 28, 2023
    Inventors: Christian Tuschen, Maik Brett, Prabhjot Singh, Anshul Goel, Pranshu Agrawal
  • Patent number: 11815620
    Abstract: A digitally modulated radar, DMR, transmitter module is disclosed comprising: a sequence generator, configured to generate a repeating digital sequence signal based on a relatively low-frequency clock signal; a mixer configured to combine the digital sequence signal with at least one phase-delayed copy of the digital sequence signal, to provide a combined signal; and a modulator configured to modulate a relatively high-frequency carrier signal, in dependence on the combined signal, to provide a modulated signal. Corresponding systems and methods are also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 29, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 14, 2023
    Assignee: NXP USA, INC.
    Inventors: Gustavo Guarin Aristizabal, Ralf Reuter, Maik Brett
  • Patent number: 11796632
    Abstract: A radar system utilizing a linear chirp that can achieve a larger MIMO virtual array than traditional systems is provided. Transmit channels transmit distinct chirp signals in an overlapped fashion such that the pulse repetition interval is kept short and the frame is kept short. This alleviates range migration and aids in achieving a high frame update rate. The chirp signals from differing transmitters can be separated on receive in the range spectrum domain, such that a MIMO virtual array construction is possible. Distinct chirps are delayed versions of the first chirp signal. Chirps overlap in the fast-time domain, but due to delay, there is separation in the range spectrum domain. When the delay is at least the instrument round-trip delay, transmitters are separable. Further, the wavelengths are identical across transmitters such that there is no residual-range versus angle ambiguity issue present in the claimed frequency-offset modulation range division MIMO system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 24, 2023
    Assignee: NXP USA, Inc.
    Inventors: Ryan Haoyun Wu, Douglas Alan Garrity, Maik Brett
  • Patent number: 11799537
    Abstract: Aspects of the present disclosure are directed to radar signal processing apparatuses and methods. As may be implemented in accordance with one or more embodiments, digital signals representative of received reflections of radar signals transmitted towards a target are mathematically processed to provide or construct a matrix pencil based on or as a function of a forward-backward matrix. Eigenvalues of the matrix pencil are computed and an estimation of the direction of arrival (DoA) of the target is output based on the computed eigenvalues.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 28, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 24, 2023
    Assignee: NXP B.V.
    Inventors: Ryan Haoyun Wu, Dongyin Ren, Michael Andreas Staudenmaier, Maik Brett
  • Publication number: 20230314560
    Abstract: A vehicle radar system, apparatus and method use a radar control processing unit to generate a target response signal in at least a first dimension from compressed radar data signals and to perform cell-averaging constant false alarm rate (CA-CFAR) target detection by convolving the target response signal with a weighted kernel window signal in a frequency domain using a Fast Fourier Transform hardware accelerator, an element-wise multiplier, and an Inverse Fast Fourier Transform hardware accelerator to generate an output signal having a sign that indicates a target detection decision.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 1, 2022
    Publication date: October 5, 2023
    Applicant: NXP B.V.
    Inventors: Ryan Haoyun Wu, Satish Ravindran, Maik Brett
  • Patent number: 11762077
    Abstract: A radar system, apparatus, architecture, and method are provided for generating a transmit reference or chirp signal that is applied to a waveform generator having a frequency offset generator and a plurality of single channel modulation mixers configured to generate a plurality of transmit signals having different frequency offsets from the transmit reference signal for encoding and transmission as N radio frequency encoded transmit signals which are reflected from a target and received at a receive antenna as a target return signal that is down-converted to an intermediate frequency signal and converted by a high-speed analog-to-digital converter to a digital signal that is processed by a radar control processing unit which performs fast time processing steps to generate a range spectrum comprising N segments which correspond, respectively, to the N radio frequency encoded transmit signals transmitted over the N transmit antennas.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 9, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2023
    Assignee: NXP USA, Inc.
    Inventors: Ryan Haoyun Wu, Douglas Alan Garrity, Maik Brett
  • Patent number: 11668790
    Abstract: Aspects of the disclosure are directed to apparatuses, systems and methods for radar processing. As may be implemented in accordance with one or more aspects herein, an apparatus may include receiver circuitry to receive and sample radar signals reflected from a target, and processing circuitry to carry out the following. Representations of the reflections are transformed into the time-frequency domain where they are oversampled. The oversampled representations of the reflections are inversely transformed to provide resampled reflections. Positional characteristics of the target may then be ascertained by constructing a range response characterizing the target based on the resampled reflections.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 25, 2021
    Date of Patent: June 6, 2023
    Assignee: NXP B.V.
    Inventors: Ryan Haoyun Wu, Dongyin Ren, Michael Andreas Staudenmaier, Maik Brett
  • Patent number: 11662427
    Abstract: A radar system, apparatus, architecture, and method are provided for generating a transmit reference or chirp signal to produce a plurality of transmit signals having different frequency offsets from the transmit reference signal for encoding and transmission as N radio frequency encoded transmit signals which are reflected from a target and received at a receive antenna as a target return signal that is down-converted to an intermediate frequency signal and converted by a high-speed analog-to-digital converter to a digital signal that is processed by a radar control processing unit which performs fast time processing steps to generate a range spectrum comprising N segments which correspond, respectively, to the N radio frequency encoded transmit signals transmitted over the N transmit antennas.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 9, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 30, 2023
    Assignee: NXP USA, Inc.
    Inventors: Ryan Haoyun Wu, Douglas Alan Garrity, Maik Brett
  • Publication number: 20230160997
    Abstract: Described are method and systems that implement time frequency domain threshold interference and localization fusion to resolve interference issues in an automotive radar system, that produces spectrograms using Short-Time Fourier Transform (STFT) for all receiving antennas of the automotive radar system. For each STFT frequency a suppression threshold is determined. Interference is isolated for each STFT frequency by removing the interference from samples that are above the suppression threshold by using a filter. Direction of Arrival (DoA) is estimated for each interference spectrogram cell using measurements from all the receiving antennas. Interference samples are clustered using the DoA into epochs of chirps.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 23, 2021
    Publication date: May 25, 2023
    Applicant: NXP B.V.
    Inventors: Ryan Haoyun Wu, Feike Guus Jansen, Michael Andreas Staudenmaier, Maik Brett
  • Patent number: 11644566
    Abstract: Embodiments are disclosed that for synthetic aperture radar (SAR) systems and methods that process radar image data to generate radar images using vector processor engines, such as single-instruction-multiple-data (SIMD) processor engines. The vector processor engines can be further augmented with accelerators that vectorize element selection thereby expediting memory accesses required for interpolation operations performed by the vector processor engines.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 9, 2023
    Assignee: NXP USA, Inc.
    Inventors: Ryan Haoyun Wu, Jayakrishnan Cheriyath Mundarath, Sili Lu, Maik Brett
  • Publication number: 20230128469
    Abstract: A radar system, apparatus, architecture, and method are provided with a transmitter that produces a plurality of distinct FanTOM signals that are transmitted as N RF-encoded transmit signals in an overlapped fashion such that the pulse repetition interval and frame length are kept short; a receiver that processes target return signals reflected from the N RF-encoded transmit signals with a mixer to produce an IF signal which is filtered with one or more notch filters clocked with a sampling clock frequency to control harmonic notch frequencies to suppress transmitter spill-over and close-in self-clutter interference, thereby producing a filtered IF signal that is converted to a digital signal with an analog-to-digital converter that is clocked with the sampling clock frequency; and a radar processor that processes the digital signal to generate a range spectrum comprising N segments that correspond, respectively, to the N RF-encoded transmit signals.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 1, 2021
    Publication date: April 27, 2023
    Applicant: NXP B.V.
    Inventors: Douglas Alan Garrity, Ryan Haoyun Wu, Maik Brett
  • Patent number: 11636037
    Abstract: Exemplary aspects for a specific example concern a radar system having sensor circuitry including multiple radar sensors to provide sensor data via multiple virtual channels and multiple data types, a memory circuit with memory buffers, and a bus-interface circuit to control bus interconnects for bus communications involving a radar signal transmitter and the memory circuit. Radar signals are received and processed, via data acquisition path circuitry in multiple circuit paths and via streams of data in response to and to accommodate the operations of the sensor circuitry. A master controller conveys data, via the bus-interface circuit, to the buffers for the sensor data, and generates selectable-type transactions to be linked in selected ones of the buffers, in response to the data provided from the sensor circuitry and based on the sensor data being provided via different ones of the multiple virtual channels and of the multiple data types.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 16, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 25, 2023
    Assignee: NXP USA, Inc.
    Inventors: Maik Brett, Naveen Kumar Jain, Shreya Singh, Anshul Goel
  • Patent number: 11604686
    Abstract: A method of acquiring data, a computer program product for implementing the method, a system for acquiring data, and a vehicle including the system. The method includes determining one or more data types and virtual channels required for one or more applications. The method also includes allocating a plurality of circular buffers in memory according to the determined data type(s) and virtual channel(s). One or more of the circular buffers are allocated to safety data lines. The remaining circular buffers are allocated to functional data lines. The method further includes storing at least one functional data line in a circular buffer allocated to functional data lines according to a data type and virtual channel of the functional data line. The method also includes storing at least one safety data line in a circular buffer allocated to safety data lines.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 26, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 14, 2023
    Assignee: NXP USA, Inc.
    Inventors: Shreya Singh, Maik Brett, Arpita Agarwal, Shivali Jain, Anshul Goel, Naveen Kumar Jain
  • Publication number: 20230053001
    Abstract: Aspects of the present disclosure are directed to radar signal processing apparatuses and methods. As may be implemented in accordance with one or more embodiments, digital signals representative of received reflections of radar signals transmitted towards a target are mathematically processed to provide or construct a matrix pencil based on or as a function of a forward-backward matrix. Eigenvalues of the matrix pencil are computed and an estimation of the direction of arrival (DoA) of the target is output based on the computed eigenvalues.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 28, 2021
    Publication date: February 16, 2023
    Inventors: Ryan Haoyun Wu, Dongyin Ren, Michael Andreas Staudenmaier, Maik Brett
  • Publication number: 20220390555
    Abstract: Aspects of the disclosure are directed to apparatuses, systems and methods for radar processing. As may be implemented in accordance with one or more aspects herein, an apparatus may include receiver circuitry to receive and sample radar signals reflected from a target, and processing circuitry to carry out the following. Representations of the reflections are transformed into the time-frequency domain where they are oversampled. The oversampled representations of the reflections are inversely transformed to provide resampled reflections. Positional characteristics of the target may then be ascertained by constructing a range response characterizing the target based on the resampled reflections.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 25, 2021
    Publication date: December 8, 2022
    Inventors: Ryan Haoyun Wu, Dongyin Ren, Michael Andreas Staudenmaier, Maik Brett
  • Publication number: 20220349986
    Abstract: Aspects of the present disclosure are directed to implementations involving the transmission of radar signals and the processing of reflections of those signals as received from a target. As may be implemented with one or more embodiments, a spectrogram may be produced by converting reflections, of transmitted radar signals from a target, into a time-frequency domain using a time-frequency analysis. One or more suppression thresholds is determined for at least one frequency signal in the spectrogram, based on frequency characteristics of the converted reflections. A range response is constructed, characterizing the target and having interference signals removed in the time-frequency domain, by converting (into the range response) selected ones of the frequency signals in the spectrogram having a magnitude within the suppression threshold.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 30, 2021
    Publication date: November 3, 2022
    Inventors: Ryan Haoyun Wu, Jun Li, Maik Brett, Michael Andreas Staudenmaier
  • Patent number: 11460566
    Abstract: A receiver unit is disclosed for use in a multiple-input-multiple output, MIMO, radar system having a plurality of transmitters each for transmitting one of a group of orthogonal digital-transmitter-signals on a carrier wave, the receiver unit configured and adapted to receive a raw-analog-signal on a carrier wave reflected from one or more target objects.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 4, 2022
    Assignee: NXP USA, Inc.
    Inventors: Gustavo Guarin Aristizabal, Ralf Reuter, Maik Brett
  • Publication number: 20220268883
    Abstract: In various examples, a radar system includes a logic circuit with an array for processing radar reflection signals. In a specific example, a method includes generating output data indicative of the reflection signals' amplitudes, and discerning angle-of-arrival information for the output data for the output data by correlating the output data with an iteratively-refined estimate of a sparse spectrum support vector (“support vector”). The approach may include: assessing at least one most probable spectrum support vector from among a plurality of most probable spectrum support vectors modeled as random values in a matrix drawn from a long-tail distribution that is controlled as a function of a scaling parameter; and update a set of parameters including a covariance estimate, the scaling parameter, and a noise variance parameter which is being associated with a measurement error for said at least one most probable spectrum support vector from a previous iteration.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 25, 2021
    Publication date: August 25, 2022
    Inventors: Ryan Haoyun Wu, Jun Li, Maik Brett, Michael Andreas Staudenmaier