Granted Patent B1

US 12,362,470 · App. 17/530,108 · Granted Jul 15, 2025

Inventors: Stephan Heinrich (Mountain View, CA); Michael Fina (Mountain View, CA)

Assignee: Waymo LLC

H01Q1/42G01S13/931G01S2013/93273H01Q1/3275

Abstract

Claims (67)

1. An apparatus for determining a characteristic of a radome comprising:

a radar coupled to a vehicle, wherein the radar is at least partially protected by the radome, and wherein an outer surface of the radome is coated with a hydrophobic coating;

a memory for storing radar data; and

a computing device coupled to the vehicle, wherein the computing device is configured to:

cause a first radar signal to be transmitted by the radar toward an object;

receive first radar data representative of a first reflected radar signal, the first reflected radar signal comprising at least a portion of the first radar signal reflected from the object;

determine a first parameter associated with the first reflected radar signal based on at least the first radar data;

trigger a fluid to be sprayed onto the outer surface of the radome;

cause a second radar signal to be transmitted toward the object after the fluid is sprayed onto the outer surface of the radome;

receive second radar data representative of a second reflected radar signal, the second reflected radar signal comprising at least a portion of the second radar signal reflected from the object;

determine a second parameter associated with the second reflected radar signal based on at least the second radar data;

perform a first comparison between the first parameter and the second parameter to determine a performance metric that represents a current transmission loss caused by the radome, wherein the current transmission loss is caused at least in part by droplets of the fluid that remain on the outer surface of the radome;

perform a second comparison between the performance metric and a threshold value, wherein the threshold value represents a baseline transmission loss expected for the radome when the hydrophobic coating is in a non-degraded state; and

based on the second comparison indicating the performance metric exceeds the threshold value, provide an alert that indicates the radome is degrading performance of the radar, wherein providing the alert includes transmitting a notification to a second computing device positioned remotely from the vehicle, the notification indicating that the hydrophobic coating on the outer surface of the radome requires servicing.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the computing device is further configured to determine a transmission characteristic of the radome based on the first comparison.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the radome is formed from one or more plastic materials.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein an outer surface of the radome includes a hydrophobic material or coating, and

wherein the performance metric depends on a condition of the hydrophobic material or coating on the outer surface of the radome.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein each of the first and second radar signals are transmitted at a first frequency or on a first channel.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a transmitter configured to generate radar signals and a receiver configured to generate the first radar data.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the computing device is further configured to:

determine the current transmission loss of the radome based on a difference between the first parameter and the second parameter.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first parameter of the first reflected radar signal comprises a power characteristic, a magnitude, an amplitude, or a phase, and

wherein the second parameter of the second reflected radar signal comprises a power characteristic, a magnitude, an amplitude or a phase.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the computing device is further configured to:

apply air to the radome;

determine an updated performance metric;

perform a third comparison between the updated performance metric and the threshold value; and

based on the third comparison, determine if the radome is degrading performance of the radar.

10. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the apparatus is coupled to a vehicle.

11. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the computing device is further configured to:

activate a cleaning mechanism to clean the radome based on the performance metric exceeding the threshold value.

12. A method for determining characteristics of a radome comprising:

receiving, at a computing device and from a radar coupled to a vehicle, radar data, wherein the radar is at least partially protected by the radome, and wherein an outer surface of the radome is coated with a hydrophobic coating;

causing a first radar signal to be transmitted by the radar toward an object;

receiving, at the computing device, first radar data representative of a first reflected radar signal, the first reflected radar signal comprising at least a portion of the first radar signal reflected from the object;

determining, at the computing device, a first parameter associated with the first reflected radar signal based on at least the first radar data;

triggering a fluid to be sprayed onto the outer surface of the radome;

causing a second radar signal to be transmitted by the radar toward the object after the fluid is sprayed onto the outer surface of the radome;

receiving, at the computing device, second radar data representative of a second reflected radar signal, the second reflected radar signal comprising at least a portion of the second radar signal reflected from the object;

determining, at the computing device, a second parameter associated with the second reflected radar signal based on at least the second radar data;

perform a first comparison between the first parameter and the second parameter to determine a performance metric that represents a current transmission loss caused by the radome, wherein the current transmission loss is caused at least in part by droplets of the fluid that remain on the outer surface of the radome;

perform a second comparison between the performance metric and a threshold value, wherein the threshold value represents a baseline transmission loss expected for the radome when the hydrophobic coating is in a non-degraded state; and

based on the second comparison indicating the performance metric exceeds the threshold value, providing an alert that indicates the radome is degrading performance of the radar, wherein providing the alert includes transmitting a notification to a second computing device positioned remotely from the vehicle, the notification indicating that the hydrophobic coating on the outer surface of the radome requires servicing.

13. The method of claim 12 , further comprising determining a transmission characteristic of the radome based on the first comparison.

14. The method of claim 12 , wherein performing the first comparison between the first parameter and the second parameter comprises:

comparing a first power level associated with the first reflected radar signal to a second power associated with the second reflected radar signal, wherein the first power level represents a baseline power level generated when the radome is clear of debris and precipitation.

15. The method of claim 12 , further comprising:

determining a shedding rate of the radome, wherein the shedding rate represents how fast precipitation clears off an outer surface of the radome.

16. The method of claim 12 , wherein determining the first parameter associated with the first reflected radar signal comprises:

compiling first radar data during multiple time intervals, wherein the first radar data includes the first reflected radar signal; and

determining the first parameter based on the compiled first radar data.

17. The method of claim 12 , further comprising:

obtaining measurements from a given radar at least partially protected by the calibrated radome;

determining the threshold value based on the measurements.

18. A non-transitory computer-readable medium configured to store instructions, that when executed by a computing system comprising one or more processors, causes the computing system to perform operations comprising:

receiving radar data from a radar coupled to a vehicle, wherein the radar is at least partially protected by a radome, and wherein an outer surface of the radome is coated with a hydrophobic coating;

causing a first radar signal to be transmitted by the radar and through the radome toward an object;

receiving first radar data representative of a first reflected radar signal, the first reflected radar signal comprising at least a portion of the first radar signal reflected from the object;

determining a first parameter associated with the first reflected radar signal based on at least the first radar data;

triggering a fluid to be sprayed onto the outer surface of the radome;

causing a second radar signal to be transmitted by the radar and through the radome toward the object after the fluid is sprayed onto the outer surface of the radome;

receiving second radar data representative of a second reflected radar signal, the second reflected radar signal comprising at least a portion of the second radar signal reflected from the object;

determining a second parameter associated with the second reflected radar signal based on at least the second radar data;

performing a first comparison between the first parameter and the second parameter to determine a performance metric that represents a current transmission loss caused by the radome, wherein the current transmission loss is caused at least in part by droplets of the fluid that remain on the outer surface of the radome;

performing a second comparison between the performance metric and a threshold value, wherein the threshold value represents a baseline transmission loss expected for the radome when the hydrophobic coating is in a non-degraded state; and

based on the second comparison indicating the performance metric exceeds the threshold value, providing an alert that indicates the radome is degrading performance of the radar, wherein providing the alert includes transmitting a notification to a second computing device positioned remotely from the vehicle, the notification indicating that the hydrophobic coating on the outer surface of the radome requires servicing.

Assignments (2)

References Cited (34)