Search

US-20260126541-A1 - NON-LINE-OF-SIGHT OBJECT DETECTION

US20260126541A1US 20260126541 A1US20260126541 A1US 20260126541A1US-20260126541-A1

Abstract

A position of a mobile device relative to a vehicle is determined. Time-of-flight (TOF) messages exchanged between ultra-wideband (UWB) anchors and a mobile device are detected via UWB anchors of a vehicle. Responsive to a lack of receipt of TOF messages from a quantity of the UWB anchors necessary for performing trilateration for at least a plurality of consecutive ranging rounds, the vehicle switches on a radar mode to detect angle of arrival and distance information between the UWB anchors and the mobile device. Responsive to switching on a radar mode, the vehicles receive channel impulse response (CIR) data from the UWB anchors. A position of the mobile device is determined based on the CIR data and the TOF messages. The position of the mobile device it utilized for one or more vehicle application.

Inventors

  • Sathyanarayana Chary Palakonda
  • Ivan Vukovic

Assignees

  • FORD GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC

Dates

Publication Date
20260507
Application Date
20241106

Claims (20)

  1. 1 . A method implemented by a controller of a vehicle for determining a position of a mobile device relative to a vehicle, comprising: detecting, via ultra-wideband (UWB) anchors of a vehicle, time-of-flight (TOF) messages exchanged between the UWB anchors and a mobile device in a ranging mode; responsive to a lack of receipt of TOF messages from a quantity of the UWB anchors necessary for performing trilateration for at least a plurality of consecutive ranging rounds, switching to a radar mode to detect angle of arrival and distance information between the UWB anchors and the mobile device; responsive to switching to the radar mode on one or more of the UWB anchors, receiving channel impulse response (CIR) data from the UWB anchors; determining a position of the mobile device based on the CIR data and the TOF messages; and utilizing the position of the mobile device for one or more vehicle applications.
  2. 2 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising calculating angle of arrival (AOA) of signals from the mobile device and the distance information using the CIR data from the UWB anchors and using the AOA information to select radar data from the UWB anchors closest to the UWB anchors providing the TOF messages when determining the position of the mobile device.
  3. 3 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising scheduling all of the UWB anchors to perform in the radar mode, the angle of arrival and distance determination.
  4. 4 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising scheduling only the UWB anchors for which the TOF messages are received to perform, in the radar mode, the angle of arrival and distance determination.
  5. 5 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising scheduling UWB radar sessions in the radar mode and UWB ranging sessions in the ranging mode by configuring specific ones of the UWB anchors to send radar packets without overlapping with other UWB anchors and without interfering with slots reserved for ranging.
  6. 6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more vehicle applications include an application for providing secure access to the vehicle.
  7. 7 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising responsive to the receipt of the TOF messages from the quantity of the UWB anchors necessary for performing the trilateration for at least the plurality of consecutive ranging rounds, switching off the radar mode previously turned on to localize the mobile device.
  8. 8 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising one or more of: utilizing unused time slots within the ranging rounds for radar sessions in the ranging mode; utilizing unused ranging rounds for the radar sessions; and/or utilizing a combination of unused time slots within an existing ranging round and unused ranging rounds for the radar sessions.
  9. 9 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising alternating between UWB radar sessions in the radar mode and UWB ranging sessions in the ranging mode in a time-synchronous manner to perform the trilateration.
  10. 10 . A system for scheduling UWB radar and ranging sessions, the system comprising: one or more UWB anchors of a vehicle; and a controller of the vehicle, configured to: detect, via the one or more UWB anchors of the vehicle, TOF messages exchanged between the one or more UWB anchors and a mobile device in a ranging mode, responsive to a lack of receipt of TOF messages from a quantity of the UWB anchors necessary for performing trilateration for at least a plurality of consecutive ranging rounds, switching on radar mode to detect angle of arrival information and distance between the UWB anchors and the mobile device, responsive to switching to the radar mode, receive CIR data from the UWB anchors, determine a position of the mobile device based on the CIR data and the TOF messages, and utilize the position of the mobile device for one or more vehicle applications.
  11. 11 . The system of claim 10 , wherein the one or more UWB anchors is a single UWB anchor, and the position of the mobile device is determined based on the CIR data and using the TOF messages from only the single UWB anchor.
  12. 12 . The system of claim 10 , wherein the controller is further configured to calculate AOA of signals from the mobile device and the distance using the CIR data from the UWB anchors and using the AOA information to select radar data from the UWB anchors closest to the UWB anchors providing the TOF messages when determining the position of the mobile device.
  13. 13 . The system of claim 10 , wherein the controller is further configured to schedule all of the UWB anchors to perform, in the radar mode, an angle of arrival and distance determination.
  14. 14 . The system of claim 10 , wherein the controller is further configured to schedule only the UWB anchors for which the TOF messages are received to perform, in the radar mode, an angle of arrival and distance determination.
  15. 15 . The system of claim 10 , wherein the controller is further configured to schedule UWB radar sessions in the radar mode and UWB ranging sessions in the ranging mode by configuring specific ones of the UWB anchors to send radar packets without overlapping with other UWB anchors and without interfering with slots reserved for ranging.
  16. 16 . The system of claim 10 , wherein the one or more vehicle applications include an application for providing secure access to the vehicle.
  17. 17 . The system of claim 10 , wherein the controller is further configured to one or more of: utilize unused time slots within the ranging rounds for radar sessions in the radar mode; utilize unused ranging rounds for the radar sessions; and/or utilize a combination of unused time slots within an existing ranging round and unused ranging rounds for the radar sessions.
  18. 18 . The system of claim 10 , wherein the controller is further configured to alternate between UWB radar sessions in the radar mode and UWB ranging sessions in the ranging mode in a time-synchronous manner to perform the trilateration.
  19. 19 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by a controller of a vehicle having a plurality of UWB anchors, cause the controller to perform operations including to: detect, via UWB anchors of a vehicle, TOF messages exchanged between the UWB anchors and a mobile device; responsive to a lack of receipt of TOF messages from a quantity of the UWB anchors necessary for performing trilateration for at least a plurality of consecutive ranging rounds, switch to a radar mode to detect angle of arrival and distance information between the UWB anchors and the mobile device; responsive to switching to the radar mode, receive CIR data from the UWB anchors; determine a position of the mobile device based on the CIR data and the TOF messages; and utilize the position of the mobile device for one or more vehicle application.
  20. 20 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19 , further comprising instructions that, when executed by the controller, cause the controller to perform operations including to schedule all of the UWB anchors to perform, in the radar mode, an angle of arrival and distance determination.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD Aspects of the disclosure generally relate to detecting and handling situations in which an ultra-wideband (UWB) mobile device is not line-of-sight. BACKGROUND Phone trilateration using UWB technology is a method for precise location tracking and positioning. UWB uses very short pulses over a wide frequency spectrum, allowing for accurate distance measurements. In trilateration, the position of a device is determined by calculating the distances from three or more known reference points, typically UWB anchors. The device measures the time it takes for UWB signals to travel between it and each UWB anchor, converting these time-of-flight measurements into distance estimates. By using multiple distance measurements, the exact position of the device can be pinpointed, often within a few centimeters. This method is used in applications such as indoor navigation, asset tracking, and augmented reality. Channel impulse responses (CIRs) may be used to provide radar functionality, in systems utilizing UWB technology. CIRs may represent a time-domain response of a signal as it travels through a channel, capturing the reflections, diffractions, and scattering of the signal off objects in the environment. By analyzing the CIRs, the presence, distance, and velocity of objects may be identified. SUMMARY In one or more illustrative examples, a method implemented by a controller of a vehicle for determining a position of a mobile device relative to a vehicle, includes detecting, via ultra-wideband (UWB) anchors of a vehicle, time-of-flight (TOF) messages exchanged between the UWB anchors and a mobile device in a ranging mode; responsive to a lack of receipt of TOF messages from a quantity of the UWB anchors necessary for performing trilateration for at least a plurality of consecutive ranging rounds, switching to a radar mode to detect angle of arrival and distance information between the UWB anchors and the mobile device; responsive to switching to the radar mode on one or more of the UWB anchors, receiving channel impulse response (CIR) data from the UWB anchors; determining a position of the mobile device based on the CIR data and the TOF messages; and utilizing the position of the mobile device for one or more vehicle applications. In one or more illustrative examples, the method further includes calculating angle of arrival (AOA) of signals from the mobile device and the distance information using the CIR data from the UWB anchors and using the AOA information to select radar data from the UWB anchors closest to the UWB anchors providing the TOF messages when determining the position of the mobile device. In one or more illustrative examples, the method further includes scheduling all of the UWB anchors to perform in the radar mode, the angle of arrival and distance determination. In one or more illustrative examples, the method further includes scheduling only the UWB anchors for which the TOF messages are received to perform, in the radar mode, the angle of arrival and distance determination. In one or more illustrative examples, the method further includes scheduling UWB radar sessions in the radar mode and UWB ranging sessions in the ranging mode by configuring specific ones of the UWB anchors to send radar packets without overlapping with other UWB anchors and without interfering with slots reserved for ranging. In one or more illustrative examples, the method further includes one or more vehicle applications include an application for providing secure access to the vehicle. In one or more illustrative examples, the method further includes method further includes responsive to the receipt of the TOF messages from the quantity of the UWB anchors necessary for performing the trilateration for at least the plurality of consecutive ranging rounds, switching off the radar mode previously turned on to localize the mobile device. In one or more illustrative examples, the method further includes comprising one or more of utilizing unused time slots within the ranging rounds for radar sessions in the ranging mode; utilizing unused ranging rounds for the radar sessions; and/or utilizing a combination of unused time slots within an existing ranging round and unused ranging rounds for the radar sessions. In one or more illustrative examples, the method further includes alternating between UWB radar sessions in the radar mode and UWB ranging sessions in the ranging mode in a time-synchronous manner to perform the trilateration. In one or more illustrative examples, a system for scheduling UWB radar and ranging sessions includes one or more UWB anchors of a vehicle; and a controller of the vehicle, configured to detect, via the one or more UWB anchors of the vehicle, TOF messages exchanged between the one or more UWB anchors and a mobile device in a ranging mode, responsive to a lack of receipt of TOF messages from a quantity of the UWB anchors necessary for performing trilateration for at least a plurality of c