IP Library › Granted Patent US 12,216,193
Granted Patent B2
US 12,216,193 · App. 17/576,919 · Granted Feb 4, 2025

Apparatus and method for detecting target using radar

Inventors: Myung Ku Kang (Gunpo-si, KR); Jae Yong Lee (Anyang-si, KR)
Assignee: SMART RADAR SYSTEM, INC.
G01S13/589G01S7/356G01S13/584
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,216,193
App. No.
17/576,919
Granted
Feb 4, 2025
Kind
B2
Abstract

In an apparatus for detecting a target using a radar according to one aspect of the present invention, a first radar and a second radar, which are multi-channel radars each including a plurality of transmitting antennas and a plurality of receiving antennas, are installed to be spaced apart from each other, and position information of a target and velocity vector information of the target are calculated from first position information and first velocity information of the target acquired from the first radar and second position information and second velocity information of the target acquired from the second radar and then are used to detect and track the target.

Claims (49)

1. An apparatus for detecting a target using a radar, the apparatus comprising:

a first radar which is a multi-channel radar including a plurality of transmitting antennas and a plurality of receiving antennas and outputs first position information and first velocity information of a target;

a second radar which is a multi-channel radar including a plurality of transmitting antennas and a plurality of receiving antennas, is installed to be spaced apart from the first radar, and outputs second position information and second velocity information of the target;

a memory; and

a processor which is configured, when executing program instructions stored in the memory, to perform:

a position information combination operation to calculate combined position information of the target from the first position information and the second position information; and

a velocity vector information calculation operation to calculate velocity vector information of the target from the first velocity information and the second velocity information,

wherein the first radar and the second radar are installed to be spaced apart from each other such that a surface on which the first radar is installed and a surface on which the second radar is installed form an inclination angle, and

wherein the position information combination operation rotates and transforms the second position information acquired through the second radar by the inclination angle and shifts and transforms the second position information vertically and horizontally by the distance difference between the centers of the first and second radars, and then combines the second position information with the first position information.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to perform a target detection operation to detect the target by clustering a point cloud of the target from the combined position information of the target and the velocity vector information of the target.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the processor is further configured to perform a target tracking operation to track the target from the combined position information of the detected target and the velocity vector information of the target.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the target tracking operation predicts a position of movement of the target from the combined position information of the target previously detected and the velocity vector information of the target and clusters a point cloud based on the predicted position to re-detect and track the target.

5. An apparatus for detecting a target using a radar, the apparatus comprising:

N radars, including a first radar and a second radar, which are multi-channel radars each including a plurality of transmitting antennas and a plurality of receiving antennas, are installed to be spaced apart from each other, and output pieces of position information and pieces of velocity information of a target, wherein N is a natural number greater than or equal to three;

a memory; and

a processor which is configured, when executing program instructions stored in the memory, to perform:

a position information combination operation to calculate combined position information of the target from the pieces of position information output from the radars; and

a velocity vector information calculation operation to calculate velocity vector information of the target from the pieces of velocity information output by the radars,

wherein the first radar and the second radar are installed to be spaced apart from each other such that a surface on which the first radar is installed and a surface on which the second radar is installed form an inclination angle, and

wherein the position information combination operation rotates and transforms the second position information acquired through the second radar by the inclination angle and shifts and transforms the second position information vertically and horizontally by the distance difference between the centers of the first and second radars, and then combines the second position information with the first position information.

6. A method of detecting a target using a radar, which is a method in which a target is detected by an apparatus for detecting a target using a multi-channel radar including a plurality of transmitting antennas and a plurality of receiving antennas, the method comprising:

acquiring first position information and first velocity information of a target through a first radar;

acquiring second position information and second velocity information of the target through a second radar installed to be spaced apart from the first radar;

calculating combined position information of the target from the first position information and the second position information; and

calculating velocity vector information of the target from the first velocity information and the second velocity information,

wherein the first radar and the second radar are installed to be spaced apart from each other such that a surface on which the first radar is installed and a surface on which the second radar is installed form an inclination angle,

wherein calculating combined position information of the target comprises:

rotating and transforming the second position information acquired through the second radar by the inclination angle;

shifting and transforming the second position information vertically and horizontally by the distance difference between the centers of the first and second radars; and

combining the second position information with the first position information.

7. The method of claim 6 , further comprising clustering a point cloud of the target from the combined position information of the target and the velocity vector information of the target to detect the target.

8. The method of claim 7 , further comprising tracking the target from the combined position information of the detected target and the velocity vector information of the target.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the tracking of the target includes:

predicting a position of movement of the target from the combined position information of the target previously detected and the velocity vector information of the target; and

clustering a point cloud based on the predicted position to re-detect and track the target.

10. The method of claim 6 , wherein calculating the velocity vector information includes:

obtaining a first Doppler velocity from the first velocity information;

obtaining a second Doppler velocity from the second velocity information; and

calculating the velocity vector information using the first Doppler velocity and the second Doppler velocity.

11. The method of claim 6 , further comprising removing a ghost target by continuously tracking point clouds.

12. The method of claim 6 , wherein the first radar and the second radar are frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) radars.

13. The method of claim 6 , wherein the first radar and the second radar are installed to be spaced apart from each other by 50 cm or more.

14. The method of claim 6 , wherein the first radar and the second radar detect the target as a point cloud.

15. The method of claim 6 , further comprising registering a detected point cloud in a target candidate group before tracking the target.

16. The method of claim 6 , wherein tracking the target is repeated until the target deviates from a designated region of interest (ROI).

17. The method of claim 6 , wherein clustering the point cloud is performed using a density based spatial clustering of application with noise (DBSCAN) algorithm.

18. The method of claim 6 , wherein the first radar and the second radar have different coordinate systems, and wherein calculating the combined position information includes transforming the second position information to a coordinate system of the first radar.

19. The method of claim 6 , further comprising identifying the target based on the clustered point cloud projected on a two-dimensional space.

20. The method of claim 6 , further comprising predicting a next position of the target using the combined position information and the velocity vector information.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jan 15, 2022
From: KANG, MYUNG KU; LEE, JAE YONG
To: SMART RADAR SYSTEM, INC.
Reel/Frame 058666/0856 →
Priority Claims (1)
KR 10-2021-0092279 · Jul 14, 2021 · national
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20230021256A1 · Jan 19, 2023
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