US-12618944-B2 - Vehicle sensor testing with field of view enhancement

US12618944B2US 12618944 B2US12618944 B2US 12618944B2US-12618944-B2

Abstract

A system for testing an emitting sensor of a vehicle is provided. Said system comprises a tester for testing the sensor, e.g. by simulating a target for the sensor's emission, and a holding arrangement, especially a holder, for holding the tester. In this context, the holding arrangement is adapted to be mounted on the vehicle and to hold the tester at a certain distance in front of the sensor.

Inventors

Steffen Neidhardt
Maximilian BOGNER

Assignees

ROHDE & SCHWARZ GMBH & CO. KG

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20231219

Claims (17)

1 . A system for testing an emitting sensor of a vehicle, comprising: a tester for testing the sensor, and a holding arrangement for holding the tester, wherein the holding arrangement is adapted to be mounted on the vehicle and to hold the tester at a certain distance in front of the sensor, and wherein the holding arrangement is directly mountable to a movable and/or rotatable part of the vehicle.
2 . The system according to claim 1 , wherein the holding arrangement is adapted for movement of the tester.
3 . The system according to claim 1 , wherein the tester comprises or is a radar or lidar object simulator.
4 . The system according to claim 1 , wherein the holding arrangement is rigid or substantially rigid.
5 . The system according to claim 1 , wherein the certain distance is between 0.5 meters and 20 meters.
6 . The system according to claim 1 , wherein the holding arrangement is mountable and/or mounted to at least one wheel of the vehicle.
7 . The system according to claim 6 , wherein the holding arrangement is mounted to the at least one wheel with the aid of at least one nut and/or at least one bolt.
8 . The system according to claim 1 , further comprising: a controller for controlling the tester and/or acquiring testing data from the tester.
9 . The system according to claim 1 , further comprising: an optical device for acquiring position data and/or status information with respect to a location on which the holding arrangement is arrangeable and/or arranged.
10 . The system according to claim 9 , wherein the optical device is configured to acquire further position data and/or further status information with respect to a steering and/or steering wheel and/or a steerable and/or steered wheel of the vehicle.
11 . The system according to claim 1 , further comprising: an interface for reading diagnosis data from the vehicle.
12 . The system according to claim 11 , wherein the diagnosis data comprises or is diagnosis data with respect to a steering and/or steering wheel and/or a steerable and/or steered wheel of the vehicle, and/or wherein the diagnosis data comprises or is diagnosis data with respect to the sensor of the vehicle.
13 . The system according to claim 1 , further comprising: an actuator for actuating a steering and/or a steering wheel and/or a steerable and/or steered wheel of the vehicle.
14 . A holding arrangement for holding a tester for testing an emitting sensor of a vehicle, comprising: a connecting portion of a certain length with a first end and a second end, an arrangement portion arranged at the first end, and a holding portion arranged at the second end, wherein the holding portion is adapted to hold the tester, wherein the arrangement portion is adapted to be mounted on the vehicle, and wherein the arrangement portion is adapted to be directly mountable to a movable and/or rotatable part of the vehicle.
15 . The holding arrangement according to claim 14 , wherein the connecting portion is rigid or substantially rigid.
16 . The holding arrangement according to claim 14 , wherein the certain length is between 0.5 meters and 20 meters.
17 . A method for testing an emitting sensor of a vehicle, comprising the steps of: mounting a holding arrangement on a movable and/or rotatable part of the vehicle, and holding a tester for testing the sensor at a certain distance in front of the sensor with the aid of the holding arrangement.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The disclosure relates to vehicle sensor testing with field of view enhancement. In particular, the disclosure relates to a system for testing a sensor of a vehicle, holding arrangement, especially a holder, for holding a tester for testing a sensor of a vehicle, especially for use in the context of such a system, and a method for testing a sensor of a vehicle. BACKGROUND ART Generally, in times of an increasing number of applications employing vehicle sensors, exemplarily used in the context of advanced driver assistance systems or autonomous vehicles, there is a growing need of a system with a tester, a holding arrangement, especially for holding such a tester, and a corresponding method for performing measurements or tests, respectively, with respect to such applications or vehicle sensors, respectively, in order to verify their correct functioning. Document CN 212483836 U provides a detection angle real vehicle calibration system of a vehicle-mounted millimeter wave radar, which is used for real vehicle calibration of a to-be-measured radar covered with a rear bumper. The system comprises a target rotation center determining system, a target height adjusting system installed on a rotation driving system and connected with the target rotation center determining system through a rotation arm, and a target simulator installed on the rotation arm. Disadvantageously, such a configuration of the vehicle calibration system according to said document does not allow for testing a vehicle sensor in a particularly efficient manner, especially in the sense of achieving an enhanced field of view testing or full field of view testing, respectively, with respect to such a vehicle sensor without additional fix points. SUMMARY Thus, there is a need to provide a system for testing a sensor of a vehicle, holding arrangement, especially a holder, for holding a tester for testing a sensor of a vehicle, especially for use in the context of such a system, and a method for testing a sensor of a vehicle, thereby allowing for a particularly high efficiency, especially in the sense of achieving an enhanced field of view testing or full field of view testing, respectively, with respect to such a vehicle sensor without additional fix points. This is achieved by the embodiments provided in the enclosed independent claims. Advantageous implementations of the present disclosure are further defined in the dependent claims. According to a first aspect of the disclosure, a system for testing an emitting sensor of a vehicle is provided. Said system comprises a tester for testing the sensor, e.g. by simulating a target for the sensor's emission, and a holding arrangement, especially a holder, for holding the tester. In this context, the holding arrangement is adapted to be mounted on the vehicle and to hold the tester at a certain distance in front of the sensor. Advantageously, this allows for a particularly high efficiency, especially in the sense of achieving an enhanced field of view testing or full field of view testing, respectively, with respect to a vehicle sensor without additional fix points. Further advantageously, a high repeatability, easiness of use, and a high testing speed can be achieved. In this context, a repeatable and precise determination of the position and angle of the tester can especially be achieved. According to an implementation form of the first aspect of the disclosure, the holding arrangement is adapted for movement, especially azimuth movement or repeatable azimuth movement, of the tester, preferably to cover the corresponding field of view of the sensor. Advantageously, for instance, the sensor field of view can fully be covered in the context of testing. According to a further implementation form of the first aspect of the disclosure, the tester comprises or is a radar or lidar (light detecting and ranging) object simulator and/or a power sensor. Advantageously, for example, radar or lidar sensors can efficiently be tested. Accordingly, it is noted that the sensor can especially comprise or be a radar or lidar sensor. According to a further implementation form of the first aspect of the disclosure, the holding arrangement is directly mountable and/or directly mounted to the vehicle, especially to a movable and/or rotatable part of the vehicle. Advantageously, for instance, for covering full sensor field of view, the holding arrangement does not necessarily have to comprise movable and/or rotatable parts. According to a further implementation form of the first aspect of the disclosure, the holding arrangement is rigid or substantially rigid. Advantageously, for example, complexity can be reduced, thereby increasing efficiency, especially cost-efficiency. According to a further implementation form of the first aspect of the disclosure, the certain distance is between 0.5 meters and 20 meters, preferably between 1 meter and 10 meters, more preferably between 1.5 meters and 5 meters, most pref