CN-121995320-A - Apparatus for a distributed coherent radar system

Abstract

An apparatus comprising a controller configured to control transmission by a distributed coherent radar, DCR, system, and a processor configured to process radar signals received by the DCR system, wherein the controller is configured to provide a plurality of transmit antennas from a first radar head of the DCR system and transmit a first chirp in a first frequency band from a first predetermined antenna and in a second frequency band through a second predetermined antenna of a second head, and to provide a plurality of transmit antennas from a second radar head, transmit a second chirp in a fourth frequency band from the second predetermined antenna and in a third frequency band through the first predetermined antenna, and the processor is configured to determine a phase noise estimate based on the received signals.

Inventors

• ARTUR TADEUSZ BURCHARD
• ALY AAMER SYED
• Massimo Chach
• BEKOOIJ MARCO JAN GERRIT

Assignees

• 恩智浦有限公司

Dates

Publication Date

20260508

Application Date

20251104

Priority Date

20241105

Claims (10)

1. 1. An apparatus, comprising: A controller configured to control transmissions by a distributed coherent radar DCR system; A processor configured to process radar signals received by the DCR system; wherein the controller is configured to: Generating a first control signal configured to provide for transmission of a first chirp from a plurality of transmit antennas of a first radar head of the DCR system by the DCR system and to provide for transmission of the first chirp from a first predetermined antenna of the first radar head and to limit transmission of the first chirp to a second predetermined antenna of a second radar head of the DCR system, wherein the first control signal is configured to provide for transmission of the first chirp from the first predetermined antenna in a first predetermined frequency band and the first chirp from the second predetermined antenna in a second predetermined frequency band, wherein the first predetermined frequency band and the second predetermined frequency band are different from one or more frequency bands such that the transmit antennas of the first radar head transmit the first chirp, and Generating a second control signal configured to provide for transmitting a second chirp from a plurality of transmit antennas of the second radar head after the first chirp by the DCR system and to provide for transmitting the second chirp from the second predetermined antenna of the second radar head and to limit transmission of the second chirp to the first predetermined antenna of the first radar head, wherein the second control signal is configured to provide for transmitting the second chirp in a third predetermined frequency band by the first predetermined antenna of the first radar head and the second chirp in a fourth predetermined frequency band by the second predetermined antenna, wherein the third predetermined frequency band and the fourth predetermined frequency band are different from one or more frequency bands such that the transmit antenna of the second radar head transmits the second chirp, and Wherein the processor is configured to: Receiving a first radar signal from the first radar head of the DCR system in response to generating the first control signal; receiving a second radar signal from the second radar head of the DCR system in response to generating the first control signal; Determining a first phase noise estimate based on a component first radar signal comprising a portion of the first radar signal in the second predetermined frequency band and a component second radar signal comprising a portion of the second radar signal in the first predetermined frequency band, based on the component first radar signal and the component second radar signal, and Receiving a third radar signal from the first radar head of the DCR system in response to generating the second control signal; Receiving a fourth radar signal from the second radar head of the DCR system in response to generating the second control signal; A second phase noise estimate is determined based on a component third radar signal comprising a portion of the third radar signal in the fourth predetermined frequency band and a component fourth radar signal comprising a portion of the fourth radar signal in the third predetermined frequency band based on the component third radar signal and the component fourth radar signal.
2. 2. The apparatus of claim 1, comprising the DCR system, the DCR system comprising: The first radar head having the plurality of transmit antennas and the first predetermined antenna configured to provide a transmit chirp, and a plurality of receive antennas configured to receive a signal including one or more reflections of the chirp and generate at least the first radar signal and the third radar signal based on the received signal, wherein the first radar head provides the transmit chirp and receives the signal based on a first time reference, and The second radar head has the plurality of transmit antennas and the second predetermined antenna configured to provide a transmit chirp, and a plurality of receive antennas configured to receive one or more reflected signals including the chirp and generate at least the second radar signal and the fourth radar signal based on the received signals, wherein the second radar head provides the transmit chirp and receives the signals based on a second different time reference.
3. 3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the device comprises a plurality of sensors, The first predetermined antenna of the first radar head includes a single transmit-receive antenna configured to transmit a respective chirp and simultaneously receive the one or more reflected signals including the chirp for processing by the processor, and Wherein the second predetermined antenna of the second radar head comprises a single transmit-receive antenna configured to transmit the respective chirp and simultaneously receive the signal including the one or more reflections of the chirp for processing by the processor.
4. 4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the first control signal is configured to provide for transmitting the first chirp from the first predetermined antenna of the first radar head and the second predetermined antenna of the second radar head by the DCR system at a lower power than a power for transmission of each of the plurality of transmit antennas of the first radar head, and Wherein the second control signal is configured to provide transmission of the second chirp by the DCR system from the first predetermined antenna of the first radar head and the second predetermined antenna of the second radar head at a lower power than a power for transmission of each of the plurality of transmission antennas of the second radar head.
5. 5. The apparatus of any preceding claim, wherein the controller is configured to generate a transmission control signal comprising the first control signal and the second control signal, the transmission control signal configured such that transmitting chirps from the plurality of transmission antennas of the first header and the plurality of transmission antennas of the second header is based on a doppler diversity multiple access waveform.
6. 6. The apparatus of any preceding claim, wherein the processor is configured to down-convert the first radar signal and the third radar signal from the first radar head to an intermediate frequency range and down-convert the second radar signal and the fourth radar signal from the second radar head to the intermediate frequency range.
7. 7. The apparatus according to claim 6, characterized in that the apparatus comprises one or more phase rotators configured such that the component second radar signal and the component third radar signal are located in the middle and/or upper and lower end of the intermediate frequency range.
8. 8. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the transmission control signal is configured such that each of the plurality of transmission antennas of the first radar head and each of the plurality of transmission antennas of the second radar head are configured to transmit each chirp with a predetermined phase change, and Wherein the processor is configured to provide a phase shift to each chirp that inverts the predetermined phase change.
9. 9. A method of operating a distributed coherent radar DCR system, comprising: Generating a first control signal configured to provide for transmission of a first chirp from a plurality of transmit antennas of a first radar head of the DCR system by the DCR system and to provide for transmission of the first chirp from a first predetermined antenna of the first radar head and to limit transmission of the first chirp to a second predetermined antenna of a second radar head of the DCR system, wherein the first control signal is configured to provide for transmission of the first chirp by the first predetermined antenna in a first predetermined frequency band and transmission of the first chirp by the second predetermined antenna in a second predetermined frequency band, wherein the first predetermined frequency band and the second predetermined frequency band are different from one or more frequency bands that cause the transmit antennas of the first radar head to transmit the first chirp; Receiving a first radar signal from the first radar head of the DCR system in response to generating the first control signal; receiving a second radar signal from the second radar head of the DCR system in response to generating the first control signal; determining a first phase noise estimate based on a first radar signal comprising a component of the first radar signal that is in the second predetermined frequency band and a component of the second radar signal comprising a portion of the second radar signal that is in the first predetermined frequency band; Generating a second control signal configured to provide for transmitting a second chirp from a plurality of transmit antennas of the second radar head after the first chirp by the DCR system and to provide for transmitting the second chirp from the second predetermined antenna of the second radar head and to limit transmission of the second chirp to the first predetermined antenna of the first radar head, wherein the second control signal is configured to provide for transmitting the second chirp in a third predetermined frequency band by the first predetermined antenna of the first radar head and transmitting the second chirp in a fourth predetermined frequency band by the second predetermined antenna, wherein the third predetermined frequency band and the fourth predetermined frequency band are different from one or more frequency bands such that the transmit antenna of the second radar head transmits the second chirp; receiving a third radar signal from the first radar head of the DCR system in response to generating the second control signal; receiving a fourth radar signal from the second radar head of the DCR system in response to generating the second control signal, and A second phase noise estimate is determined based on a component of the third radar signal including a portion of the third radar signal in the fourth predetermined frequency band and a component of a fourth radar signal including a portion of the fourth radar signal in the third predetermined frequency band.
10. 10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that the method comprises: Receiving the first radar signal and the third radar signal from the first radar head of the DCR system includes receiving from the first predetermined antenna; receiving the second radar signal and the fourth radar signal from the second radar head of the DCR system includes receiving from the second predetermined antenna.

Description

Apparatus for a distributed coherent radar system Technical Field The present disclosure relates to an apparatus for use with a distributed coherent radar system. Background The distributed coherent radar system is configured to transmit signals from two or more radar heads and simultaneously receive any reflected signals as well as signals communicated between antennas of the same head and antennas of different heads. Effectively processing the received signal remains a challenge. Disclosure of Invention According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an apparatus comprising: A controller configured to control transmissions by a distributed coherent radar DCR system A processor configured to process radar signals received by the DCR system; wherein the controller is configured to: Generating a first control signal configured to provide for transmission of a first chirp from a plurality of transmit antennas of a first radar head of the DCR system by the DCR system and to provide for transmission of the first chirp from a first predetermined antenna of the first radar head and to limit transmission of the first chirp to a second predetermined antenna of a second radar head of the DCR system, wherein the first control signal is configured to provide for transmission of the first chirp from the first predetermined antenna in a first predetermined frequency band and the first chirp from the second predetermined antenna in a second predetermined frequency band, wherein the first predetermined frequency band and the second predetermined frequency band are different from one or more frequency bands such that the transmit antennas of the first radar head transmit the first chirp, and Generating a second control signal configured to provide for transmitting a second chirp from a plurality of transmit antennas of the second radar head after the first chirp by the DCR system and to provide for transmitting the second chirp from the second predetermined antenna of the second radar head and to limit transmission of the second chirp to the first predetermined antenna of the first radar head, wherein the second control signal is configured to provide for transmitting the second chirp in a third predetermined frequency band by the first predetermined antenna of the first radar head and the second chirp in a fourth predetermined frequency band by the second predetermined antenna, wherein the third predetermined frequency band and the fourth predetermined frequency band are different from one or more frequency bands such that the transmit antenna of the second radar head transmits the second chirp, and Wherein the processor is configured to: Receiving a first radar signal from the first radar head of the DCR system in response to generating the first control signal; receiving a second radar signal from the second radar head of the DCR system in response to generating the first control signal; Determining a first phase noise estimate based on a component first radar signal comprising a portion of the first radar signal in the second predetermined frequency band and a component second radar signal comprising a portion of the second radar signal in the first predetermined frequency band, based on the component first radar signal and the component second radar signal, and Receiving a third radar signal from the first radar head of the DCR system in response to generating the second control signal; Receiving a fourth radar signal from the second radar head of the DCR system in response to generating the second control signal; A second phase noise estimate is determined based on a component third radar signal comprising a portion of the third radar signal in the fourth predetermined frequency band and a component fourth radar signal comprising a portion of the fourth radar signal in the third predetermined frequency band based on the component third radar signal and the component fourth radar signal. In one or more embodiments, the apparatus includes the DCR system, the DCR system including: The first radar head having the plurality of transmit antennas and the first predetermined antenna configured to provide a transmit chirp, and a plurality of receive antennas configured to receive a signal including one or more reflections of the chirp and generate at least the first radar signal and the third radar signal based on the received signal, wherein the first radar head provides the transmit chirp and receives the signal based on a first time reference, and The second radar head has the plurality of transmit antennas and the second predetermined antenna configured to provide a transmit chirp, and a plurality of receive antennas configured to receive one or more reflected signals including the chirp and generate at least the second radar signal and the fourth radar signal based on the received signals, wherein the second radar head provides the transmit chirp and receives the signals based on a second differe