CN115825939A

CN115825939A - Detection system and detection method

Info

Publication number: CN115825939A
Application number: CN202111094706.5A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 莫迪; 郭奇政; 李政达
Original assignee: Wistron Neweb Corp
Current assignee: Wistron Neweb Corp
Priority date: 2021-09-17
Filing date: 2021-09-17
Publication date: 2023-03-21

Abstract

A detection system and a detection method are provided. The detection system comprises: the device comprises a transmitter, a receiver and a processing circuit, wherein the processing circuit is connected with the transmitter and the receiver and is configured to execute a detection program, and the detection program comprises a step of controlling the transmitter to transmit a detection signal towards a detection area; controlling a receiver to receive a plurality of reflected signals; processing the reflected signals to respectively judge whether an object exists in a plurality of sub-areas of the detection area; the processing circuit is configured to perform an initialization phase and to perform a normal operation phase after the initialization phase. The detection system and the detection method of the invention record the environment and the static object, and the recorded data is used for detecting a new static object and distinguishing the new static object from the existing static object.

Description

Detection system and detection method

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a detection system and a detection method, and more particularly, to a detection system and a detection method capable of detecting a newly appearing stationary object and distinguishing the stationary object from an existing stationary object.

Background

There is a need for continuous monitoring of highway conditions for safety and protection of life and property. On a highway, if the vehicle comes to a sudden stop due to a mechanical failure or a loss of consciousness of the driver, a dangerous condition may result. In this case, the relevant unit should be notified to close the lane on which the stopped vehicle is located, clear the obstacle, and open the lane.

In the conventional road detection technology, an inductive loop (inductive loop) detector, a wireless magnetometer, a camera, a radar, a communication module, and the like are often used. However, the above devices all have their limitations.

For example, the inductor loop detector is susceptible to road condition changes and degrades with increasing usage time; each device equipped with a magnetometer needs to be assigned a power line, and one device is needed at intervals, so that the setting requirement is large; the camera is subject to severe weather conditions that can degrade performance.

The radar requires lower management and maintenance costs than the above-described devices, and the radar system can operate around the clock. The disadvantage is that the field of view is limited and only objects at line-of-sight (line-of-sight) can be detected. In other words, if a smaller object is obscured from view by a larger object in the field of view of the radar and cannot be seen by the radar, the obscured object may not be detected.

In addition, the conventional radar needs to track the detection data of the moving object for prediction and early warning. Small objects may not be detected if they stop moving and stop near a stationary object, which limits the ability of conventional radar systems to detect new stationary objects and distinguish them from old stationary objects.

Therefore, it is desirable to provide a detection system and a detection method to solve the above problems.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention is directed to a detection system and a detection method for detecting a newly-appearing stationary object and distinguishing the newly-appearing stationary object from an existing stationary object.

In order to solve the above technical problem, one technical solution of the present invention is to provide a detection system, which includes a transmitter, a receiver, and a processing circuit. The processing circuit is connected to the transmitter and the receiver and configured to perform a detection procedure, the detection procedure comprising: controlling a transmitter to transmit a detection signal toward a detection area with a predetermined antenna pattern, wherein the predetermined antenna pattern covers the detection area; controlling a receiver to receive a plurality of reflected signals; and processing the reflection signals to generate detection results so as to respectively judge whether an object exists in a plurality of sub-areas of the detection area. Wherein the processing circuit is configured to perform an initialization phase comprising: executing the detection program for a first preset number of times; and when the detection program is executed, respectively accumulating the times of detecting the existence of the object by the sub-regions, so as to generate a plurality of initial count values respectively corresponding to the sub-regions after the detection program is executed for a first preset time. The initial count values are used for respectively indicating whether existing static objects exist in the sub-areas. Wherein the processing circuit is configured to perform a normal operation phase after the initialization phase, the normal operation phase comprising: executing the detection program for a second preset number of times; when the detection program is executed, respectively accumulating the times of detecting the existence of the object in the sub-regions, so as to generate a plurality of current count values respectively corresponding to the sub-regions after the detection program is executed for a second preset time; comparing the current count value of the current sub-area in the sub-areas with the initial count value of the current sub-area, and if the current count value of the current sub-area exceeds a first count threshold value of the initial count value of the current sub-area, determining that a new static object appears in the current sub-area; and counting the number of the sub-areas where new static objects appear to generate a statistical result, wherein the statistical result is used for indicating the state of the detection area.

In order to solve the above technical problem, another technical solution adopted by the present invention is to provide a detection method, where the detection method includes: a processing circuit configured to be coupled to the transmitter and the receiver to perform a detection procedure, the detection procedure comprising: controlling a transmitter to transmit a detection signal toward a detection area with a predetermined antenna pattern, wherein the predetermined antenna pattern covers the detection area; controlling a receiver to receive a plurality of reflected signals; and processing the reflection signals to generate detection results so as to respectively judge whether the object exists in a plurality of sub-areas of the detection area. The detection method further includes configuring the processing circuit to perform an initialization phase and to perform a normal operation phase after the initialization phase. The initialization phase comprises the following steps: executing the detection program for a first preset number of times; and when the detection program is executed, respectively accumulating the times of detecting the existence of the object in the sub-regions, so as to generate a plurality of initial count values respectively corresponding to the sub-regions after the detection program is executed for a first preset time, wherein the initial count values are used for respectively indicating whether the existing static object exists in the sub-regions. The normal working phase comprises the following steps: executing the detection program for a second preset number of times; when the detection program is executed, respectively accumulating the times of detecting the existence of the object in the sub-regions, so as to generate a plurality of current count values respectively corresponding to the sub-regions after the detection program is executed for a second preset time; comparing the current count value of a current sub-area in the sub-areas with the initial count value of the current sub-area, and if the current count value of the current sub-area exceeds the initial count value of the current sub-area by a first count threshold, determining that a new static object appears in the current sub-area; and counting the number of the sub-areas where the new static object appears to generate a statistical result, wherein the statistical result is used for indicating the state of the detection area.

One of the advantages of the present invention is that the detection system and the detection method provided by the present invention record the environment and the stationary object, and use the recorded data to detect a new stationary object and distinguish it from the existing stationary object.

For a better understanding of the features and technical content of the present invention, reference should be made to the following detailed description of the invention and accompanying drawings, which are provided for purposes of illustration and description only and are not intended to limit the invention.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a functional block diagram of a detection system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a detection procedure according to an embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 3 is a schematic view of a radar installation according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of a predetermined antenna pattern covering a detection area according to an embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an initialization phase according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 6 is another flow chart of the initialization phase according to an embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a normal operation phase according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 8 is another flow chart of a normal operation phase according to an embodiment of the invention.

Description of the main component symbols:

1. detection system

10. Emitter

11. Receiver with a plurality of receivers

12. First receiving circuit

13. Second receiving circuit

14. Processing circuit

15. Bus line

16. Memory device

17. Communication module

30 FMCW radar

31. Telegraph pole

40. Predetermined antenna pattern

41. Detection area

42. Sub-area

43. Grid mesh

100. First RF front-end circuit

120. Second RF front-end circuit

122. Analog-to-digital converter

130. Third RF front-end circuit

132. Analog-to-digital converter

160. Detection procedure

162. Initialization phase

164. Stage of normal operation

Rx1 first receiving antenna

Rx2 second receiving antenna

Tx transmitting antenna

Detailed Description

The following is a description of the embodiments of the detection system and the detection method disclosed in the present invention with reference to specific embodiments, and those skilled in the art will understand the advantages and effects of the present invention from the disclosure of the present specification. The invention is capable of other and different embodiments and its several details are capable of modifications and various changes in detail, all without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The drawings of the present invention are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to be drawn to scale. The following embodiments will further explain the related art of the present invention in detail, but the disclosure is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. In addition, the term "or" as used herein should be taken to include any one or combination of more of the associated listed items as the case may be.

Referring to fig. 1, an embodiment of the invention provides a detection system 1, which includes a transmitter 10, a receiver 11, a processing circuit 14, a memory 16, and a communication module 17. The aforementioned components may communicate with each other via, for example, but not limited to, a bus 15.

The transmitter 10 may include a transmitting antenna Tx and a first Radio Frequency (RF) front-end circuit 100, and the receiver 11 may include a first receiving circuit 12 and a second receiving circuit 13. The first receiving circuit 12 includes a first receiving antenna Rx1, a second rf front-end circuit 120 and an analog-to-digital converter 122, and the second receiving circuit 13 includes a second receiving antenna Rx2, a third rf front-end circuit 130 and an analog-to-digital converter 132.

The first rf front-end circuit 100 is used to control the transmitter 10, the second rf front-end circuit 120 and the third rf front-end circuit 130 are used to control the first receiving circuit 12 and the second receiving circuit 13, respectively, and the first rf front-end circuit 100, the second rf front-end circuit 120 and the third rf front-end circuit 130 may be integrated in a single chip or multiple chips. In addition, the analog-to-digital converter 122 may be electrically connected between the second rf front-end circuit 120 and the processing circuit 14, and the analog-to-digital converter 132 may be electrically connected between the third rf front-end circuit 130 and the processing circuit 14, so as to convert the analog signal into a digital signal for further processing by the processing circuit 14.

The memory 16 is any storage device capable of storing data, and may be, for example, but not limited to, a Random Access Memory (RAM), a Read Only Memory (ROM), a flash memory, a hard disk, or other storage devices capable of storing data. The memory 16 is configured to store at least a plurality of computer readable instructions. In one embodiment, the memory 16 may also be used to store temporary data generated during the operation of the processing circuit 14.

The processing circuit 14 may be, for example, a microcontroller (microcontroller), a microprocessor (microprocessor), or a Digital Signal Processor (DSP). The processing circuit 14 is electrically connected to the transmitter 10, the receiver 11 and the memory 16, and is configured to access and execute the detection procedure 160, the initialization phase 162 and the normal operation phase 164 from the memory 16, and control the transmitter 10 and the receiver 11. The communication module 17 may also communicate with external devices or networks under the control of the processing circuit 14.

The detection method of the present invention will be described below, which can be applied in the detection system 1 of fig. 1, or practiced by other hardware elements such as a database, a general processor, a calculator, a server, or other unique hardware devices with specific logic circuits or apparatuses with specific functions, such as integrating program code and a processor/chip into unique hardware. In more detail, the detection method may be implemented using a computer program to control the elements of the detection system 1. The computer program can be stored in a non-transitory computer readable recording medium, such as a rom, a flash memory, a floppy disk, a hard disk, an optical disk, a portable disk, a magnetic tape, a database accessible by a network, or a computer readable recording medium with the same functions as those of the computer readable recording medium.

The detection method of the invention can comprise a detection program, an initialization phase and a normal working phase. In the initialization stage and the normal operation stage, the detection procedure needs to be executed many times, so the detection procedure will be described first.

Fig. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a detection procedure according to an embodiment of the invention. As shown in fig. 2, the detection procedure includes the following steps:

step S20: the transmitter is controlled to transmit a detection signal towards the detection area with a predetermined antenna pattern. Wherein the predetermined antenna pattern covers the detection area. For example, the first rf front-end circuit 100 may control the transmitting antenna Tx to form a predetermined antenna pattern in a beam-forming manner and transmit a detection signal toward the detection area.

Step S21: the control receiver receives a plurality of reflected signals. For example, the reflection signals may be received by the first receiving antenna Rx1 and the second receiving antenna Rx2, and transmitted to the processing circuit 14 through the second rf front-end circuit 120 and the analog-to-digital converter 122, and the third rf front-end circuit 130 and the analog-to-digital converter 132.

Step S22: the reflected signals are processed to generate detection results, so as to respectively judge whether an object exists in a plurality of sub-areas of the detection area.

Reference is now made to fig. 3, which is a schematic illustration of a radar installation in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. For example, the detection system 1 provided by the present invention may employ a Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) radar 30 and mount it on a road-facing overhead pole 31. The FMCW radar 30 may, for example, include a transmitter 10, a receiver 11, and processing circuitry 14. The FMCW radar 30 transmits signals and receives reflected signals that will provide range information, angle information (i.e., the reflected signals will describe the inspected object in polar form), and velocity of the inspected object. It is worth mentioning that the range resolution (often referred to as Δ R) of the FMCW radar 30 is determined by the Bandwidth (BW) and the speed of light (c), dR =2 × BW/c, and the angle measurement and accuracy depend on the angle measurement technique used and the radar characteristics.

Reference is further made to fig. 4, which is a schematic diagram illustrating a predetermined antenna pattern covering a detection area according to an embodiment of the invention. For example, the FMCW radar 30 transmits detection signals toward the detection area 41 with a predetermined antenna pattern 40 covering the detection area 41 and receives reflected signals, the processing circuit 14 may process the reflected signals to convert from an initial polar coordinate form to a rectangular coordinate form, and may divide the detection area 41 into a plurality of sub-areas 42 having regular intervals according to the rectangular coordinate. In the present embodiment, the sub-regions 42 correspond to the grids 43 shown in fig. 4, and have a column size (hereinafter referred to as ROW) and a ROW size (hereinafter referred to as COL) and are used for determining the position of the target relative to the radar, but the number and the shape of the sub-regions 42 are not limited in the present invention.

Further, the detection method provided by the invention comprises two stages: an initialization phase and a normal working phase. In the initialization phase, the radar needs to be calibrated according to the environment, and multiple radar cycles need to be performed to monitor stationary objects in the environment, such as guardrails, trees, utility poles, and the like. This initialization phase may be performed when there are no stationary or slowly moving vehicles in the detection area.

The radar cycle is the detection procedure described above. The radar period is defined by the update rate (1/Ts) of the radar system, and in each new radar period the detection system 1 will start measuring the current environment for a new detection procedure. Furthermore, the number of detection procedures that must be performed during the initialization phase may be controlled by the parameter N. If the radar update rate is (1/Ts), the initialization cycle is N x Ts, which means that the initialization stage is performed after N times of updating. However, the radar period may be a fixed period or a variable period, and therefore, the present invention does not limit the time of the initialization cycle by the update rate, but describes the initialization phase and the normal operation phase by the number of times of executing the detection program.

Please refer to fig. 5, which is a flowchart illustrating an initialization phase according to an embodiment of the invention. The detection method comprises configuring the processing circuit 14 to perform an initialization phase comprising the steps of:

step S50: the detection procedure is performed a first predetermined number of times.

Step S51: when the detection program is executed, the times that the sub-regions detect the existence of the object are respectively accumulated, so that a plurality of initial count values respectively corresponding to the sub-regions are generated after the detection program is executed for a first preset time. The initial count values are used for respectively indicating whether existing static objects exist in the sub-areas.

For example, in the initialization phase, the radar records the detected targets for all grids (sub-areas) in the detection area within a fixed time, and several detection procedures are required. For example, [ ROW ] [ COL ] is [10] [10] representing a total of 10 × 10 grids, and the number of sub-regions corresponds to the number of grids. At this stage, the number of times an object is detected in the detection process, referred to as the detection number, is recorded and counted.

For a sub-region, the counted number of detections indicates the probability of the presence of a stationary object in the sub-region, and even if the detection is caused by noise, the number of detections from real stationary objects will exceed the number of detections due to noise. Processing circuitry 14 may accumulate the number of detections in each sub-region and store in memory 16 for future reference.

Please refer to fig. 6, which is another flowchart illustrating an initialization phase according to an embodiment of the invention. As shown in fig. 6, materializing the initialization phase may include the following steps:

step S600: the variable init _ grid ROW COL and the loop count variable are initialized to 0.

The variable init _ grid [ ROW ] [ COL ] is used for storing the accumulated detection times of the total number of the subregions COL × ROW, and the loop count variable is used for continuously tracking the loop times.

Step S601: in the current cycle, a detection procedure is performed.

Step S602: the distance information and the angle information are converted into rectangular coordinates corresponding to the sub-regions.

Step S603: it is determined whether an object is detected in the sub-region.

In response to detecting the presence of an object in the sub-area, proceed to step S604: and judging whether the variable init _ grid [ row ] [ col ] is smaller than the variable MAX _ THRESHOLD or not.

The variable init _ grid [ row ] [ col ] is used for storing the accumulated detection times of the sub-area with the position [ row ] [ col ], and the variable MAX _ THRESHOLD is the maximum allowable value of the variable init _ grid [ row ] [ col ]. In other words, when a target is detected in a sub-region, the variable init _ grid [ row ] [ col ] corresponding to the sub-region is incremented, and row and col define the location of the sub-region. For example, when [ ROW ] [ COL ] is [10] [10], the total number of sub-regions is 10 × 10, and [ ROW ] [ COL ] representing the position of the sub-region may be [0] [0] to [9]. Corresponding to step S51, when the initial count value accumulation for one of the sub-areas exceeds the count THRESHOLD set by the variable MAX _ THRESHOLD, the accumulation is stopped, and the variable MAX _ THRESHOLD is used as the initial count value.

In response to the variable init _ grid [ row ] [ col ] being less than the variable MAX _ THRESHOLD, the initialization stage proceeds to step S605: the variable init _ grid [ row ] [ col ] is incremented by 1.

Subsequently, the flow proceeds to step S606: waiting for the next cycle.

It should be noted that, in response to determining that no object is detected in the sub-area in step S603, or in response to determining that the variable init _ grid [ row ] [ col ] is not less than the variable MAX _ THRESHOLD in step S604, the initialization stage proceeds to step S606. In one cycle, all subregions are detected once and the variable init _ grid [ row ] [ col ] is updated.

Step S607: the loop count variable is incremented by 1. Here, the loop count variable corresponds to the number of loops mentioned above.

Step S608: and judging whether the loop counting variable is smaller than N. Where N represents the number of times the detection procedure has to be performed in the initialization phase, i.e. the first predetermined number of times mentioned in step S50.

In response to determining that the loop count variable is less than N, the process returns to step S601.

In response to determining that the loop count variable is not less than N, the initialization phase ends, and step S609 is entered: and (5) a normal working stage.

In detail, under this mechanism, if there is a stationary object in the sub-area represented by the variable init _ grid [ row ] [ col ], the value of init _ grid [ row ] [ col ] is incremented to a larger value at the end of the initialization phase. If there are no stationary objects in the sub-area represented by the variable init _ grid [ row ] [ col ], the value of the variable init _ grid [ row ] [ col ] will be a very small value at the end of the initialization phase.

The detection method comprises configuring the processing circuit 14 to perform a normal operation phase after an initialization phase, comprising the steps of:

step S70: the detection procedure is performed a second predetermined number of times. In this step, the second predetermined number of times is at least greater than the first predetermined number of times, otherwise in subsequent steps, since the value accumulated a second predetermined number of times is likely not to exceed the variable init _ grid [ row ] [ col ] accumulated a first predetermined number of times, no comparison will be possible.

Step S71: when the detection program is executed, the times that the sub-regions detect the existence of the object are respectively accumulated, so that a plurality of current count values respectively corresponding to the sub-regions are generated after the detection program is executed for a second preset time. This step is similar to step S51 in the initialization phase, and the difference is only in the number of times.

Step S72: and comparing the current count value of the current sub-area in the sub-areas with the initial count value of the current sub-area, and if the current count value of the current sub-area exceeds a first count threshold value of the initial count value of the current sub-area, namely subtracting the initial count value from the current count value and being greater than the first count threshold value, determining that a new static object appears in the current sub-area.

In detail, this step compares the current count value of each of the sub-regions with the initial count value to determine whether a new stationary object is present. In other words, the sub-areas having a certain size, for example, the initial count value of the variable MAX _ THRESHOLD, will be regarded as sub-areas where existing stationary objects exist, and these sub-areas are taken as a reference for determining whether a new stationary object appears.

Step S73: the number of sub-regions where new stationary objects appear is counted to generate a statistical result, which is used to indicate the status of the detection region.

Please refer to fig. 7 again. For example, for the detection area disposed on the road, the step S73 may determine the road condition according to the statistical result. For example, the normal operation phase may further include configuring processing circuitry 14 to perform the following steps:

step S74: and taking the sub-areas where new static objects appear as a plurality of conversion sub-areas, and counting the number of the conversion sub-areas.

Step S75: and judging whether the number of the conversion subregions is larger than a first threshold value or not. If yes, the process proceeds to step S76. If not, the process proceeds to step S77.

Step S76: and judging the state of the detection area as a first event.

Step S77: and judging whether the number of the conversion subregions is larger than zero and smaller than or equal to a second threshold value. If yes, the process proceeds to step S78. If not, the process proceeds to step S79.

In step S78, it is determined that the state of the detection area is the second event. It should be noted that the first threshold is larger than the second threshold.

Step S79: and judging the state of the detection area as a third event.

In detail, the first threshold is used in a situation where, if a new stationary object is detected in a large number of sub-areas, it can be concluded that the status of the detection area is the first event, i.e. that there may be heavy traffic or even that there is a traffic jam in the detection area. The number of transition sub-regions required to trigger this warning may be set by a first THRESHOLD, which may be, for example, the variable JAM _ THRESHOLD in one embodiment.

On the other hand, the context of the use of the second threshold is that if only a few sub-areas have detected the presence of a new stationary object, the state of the detection area may be inferred to be a second event, i.e. there may be one or more obstacles or stopped vehicles in the detection area (on the road). The number of transition sub-regions required to trigger this warning may be set by a second THRESHOLD, which may be, for example, a variable SVD THRESHOLD in one embodiment.

When the number of transition sub-regions is less than or equal to the second threshold value, or is zero, it represents that too many stationary objects are not present in the detection region, and it may be concluded that the state of the detection region is a third event, which may represent, for example, that the road is clear.

Please refer to fig. 8, which is another flowchart illustrating a normal operation stage according to an embodiment of the invention. As shown in fig. 8, embodying the normal operation phase may include the following steps:

step S800: all variables current _ grid ROW COL are initialized to 0. In the normal operation phase, the variable current _ grid [ ROW ] [ COL ] is used to store the detection state, the size of the variable current _ grid is COL × ROW, and the variable current _ grid is initialized to 0 at the start of the normal operation phase.

Step S801: the variable grid busy counter is initialized to 0. The variable grid busy counter represents the number of conversion sub-regions.

Step S802: the detection procedure is performed for the current cycle.

Step S803: the distance information and the angle information are converted into rectangular coordinates corresponding to the sub-regions.

Step S804: the variable row and the variable col are set to 1.

Step S805: it is determined whether or not the presence of an object is detected in the sub-regions whose positions correspond to col and row. If not, the process proceeds to step S806. If yes, the process proceeds to step S807.

Step S806: and judging whether the variable current _ grid [ row ] [ col ] is larger than zero or not. If yes, the process proceeds to step S808. If not, the process proceeds to step S810.

Each time the detection procedure is performed, an object is detected in the detection area, and the position of the detected object corresponds to the value of the variable current _ grid defined by row and col (i.e. the current sub-area as described earlier), with a lower limit of 0. If any object is detected in the current sub-area corresponding to the variable current _ grid [ row ] [ col ], the value of the variable current _ grid [ row ] [ col ] is increased progressively, and if not, the value is decreased progressively.

Step S808: the variable current _ grid [ row ] [ col ] is decremented by 1, and the process proceeds to step S810.

Step S807: and judging whether the variable current _ grid [ row ] [ col ] is smaller than the variable MAX _ THRESHOLD or not. Wherein, the upper limit of the value of the variable current _ grid [ row ] [ col ] is the variable MAX _ THRESHOLD.

If yes, the process proceeds to step S809. If not, the process proceeds to step S810.

Step S809: the variable current _ grid [ row ] [ col ] is incremented by 1 and the process proceeds to step S810.

Step S810: it is determined whether the variable current _ grid [ row ] [ col ] is greater than the variable MIN _ DET _ THRESHOLD. If yes, the process proceeds to step S811. If not, the process proceeds to step S813.

The value of the variable MIN _ DET _ THRESHOLD is determined whether the noise is generated before the variable current _ grid [ row ] [ col ] is compared with the variable init _ grid [ row ] [ col ] so as to separate the noise from a real static object.

Step S811: and judging whether the variable current _ grid [ row ] [ col ] is larger than the variable init _ grid [ row ] [ col ] and the variable MAX _ DET _ THRESHOLD. If so, the process proceeds to step S812, and if not, the process proceeds to step S813.

In detail, if the value of the variable current _ grid [ row ] [ col ] is equal to the value of the variable init _ grid [ row ] [ col ], the environment in this current sub-area does not change much since the initialization phase.

If a new object appears in the current sub-area, the detected number will increase, which makes the value of the variable current _ grid [ row ] [ col ] higher than the value of the variable init _ grid [ row ] [ col ]. If the object is far from the current sub-area, no object will be detected at the location of the current sub-area, and the value of the variable current _ grid [ row ] [ col ] will decrement to the value of the variable init _ grid [ row ] [ col ] or lower.

If the variable current _ grid [ row ] [ col ] exceeds a certain THRESHOLD of the variable init _ grid [ row ] [ col ], for example, the variable MAX _ DET _ THRESHOLD, a new stationary object appears at the position of the corresponding current sub-area, the detected stationary object can be processed, and the variable MAX _ DET _ THRESHOLD can further avoid misjudging that the new stationary object appears in the current sub-area.

However, if the value of the variable current _ grid [ row ] [ col ] is less than or equal to the value of the variable init _ grid [ row ] [ col ], this means that no new stationary objects have appeared since the initialization stage, and all detected values can be ignored from the subsequent processing. Further, the variable MAX _ DET _ THRESHOLD may be obtained through experimental or statistical analysis for measuring activity within the current sub-region.

Step S812: the variable grid busy counter is incremented by 1. In other words, the current sub-area satisfying the condition of step S811 may be regarded as a conversion sub-area in which a new stationary object appears, and the number of conversion sub-areas may be counted using the variable grid _ busy _ counter.

Step S813: the variable row is increased by 1.

Step S814: it is determined whether the variable ROW is less than or equal to ROW. If yes, go back to step S805. If not, the process proceeds to step S815.

Step S815: the variable col is increased by 1.

Step S816: it is determined whether the variable COL is less than or equal to COL. If yes, go back to step S805. If not, the process proceeds to step S75.

Therefore, it is conceivable that the detection system and the detection method provided by the present invention may be used to assist the traffic control system in making decisions after determining the state of the detection area, and may be operated in cooperation with the conventional radar system, and may be integrated with the road surface monitoring system in the form of a software module to improve the performance of the conventional radar system to detect obstacles and traffic congestion conditions.

[ advantageous effects of the embodiments ]

The invention has another beneficial effect that the detection system and the detection method provided by the invention can also detect the object as a new static object when the object is blocked by a larger object, is in the NLOS state and stops suddenly, distinguish the new static object from the existing static object after the new static object returns to the LOS state, and recognize the new static object as an obstacle in the detection area.

The disclosure is only a preferred embodiment of the invention and should not be taken as limiting the scope of the claims, so that all technical equivalents that can be made by using the description and drawings are included in the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A detection system, the detection system comprising:

a transmitter;

a receiver; and

a processing circuit coupled to the transmitter and the receiver and configured to perform a detection procedure, the detection procedure comprising:

controlling the transmitter to transmit a detection signal toward a detection area with a predetermined antenna pattern, wherein the predetermined antenna pattern covers the detection area;

controlling the receiver to receive a plurality of reflected signals; and

processing the reflection signals to generate detection results so as to respectively judge whether objects exist in a plurality of sub-areas of the detection area;

wherein the processing circuit is configured to perform an initialization phase comprising:

executing the detection program for a first preset number of times; and

when the detection program is executed, respectively accumulating the times of detecting the existence of the object in the sub-regions, so as to generate a plurality of initial count values respectively corresponding to the sub-regions after the detection program is executed for the first preset times, wherein the initial count values are used for respectively indicating whether the existing static object exists in the sub-regions;

wherein the processing circuit is configured to perform a normal operation phase after the initialization phase, the normal operation phase comprising:

executing the detection program for a second preset number of times;

when the detection program is executed, respectively accumulating the times of detecting the existence of the object in the sub-areas, so as to generate a plurality of current count values respectively corresponding to the sub-areas after the detection program is executed for the second preset times;

comparing the current count value of a current sub-area of the sub-areas with the initial count value of the current sub-area, and if the current count value of the current sub-area exceeds the initial count value of the current sub-area by a first count threshold, determining that a new static object appears in the current sub-area; and

the number of the sub-regions where new stationary objects appear is counted to generate a statistical result, and the statistical result is used for indicating the state of the detection region.

2. The inspection system of claim 1, wherein, in the inspection process, the processing circuitry is configured to:

processing the reflected signals to obtain distance information and angle information of the detected object reflecting the detection signals; and

converting the obtained distance information and the angle information into position information of a plurality of grids, wherein the grids correspond to the sub-regions.

3. The detecting system of claim 1, wherein during the initialization phase, when the initial count values for one of the sub-regions exceed a second count threshold, the accumulation is stopped, and the second count threshold is used as the initial count value.

4. The detection system of claim 1, wherein, during the normal operation phase, the processing circuit is configured to treat the sub-regions where new stationary objects appear as a plurality of transition sub-regions, count the number of transition sub-regions and compare the counted number with a first threshold value,

wherein, in response to the number of the conversion sub-regions being greater than the first threshold, the processing circuit determines the detection region as a first event.

5. The detection system of claim 4, wherein during the normal operation phase, the processing circuit is configured to count the number of the transition sub-regions and compare the number with a second threshold, and in response to the number of the transition sub-regions being greater than zero and less than or equal to the second threshold, the processing circuit determines the detection region as a second event.

6. The detection system of claim 5, wherein the first threshold is greater than the second threshold.

7. The detection system of claim 1, wherein the second predetermined number of times is at least greater than the first predetermined number of times.

8. A method of detection, the method comprising:

configuring a processing circuit coupled to a transmitter and a receiver to perform a detection procedure, the detection procedure comprising:

controlling the receiver to receive a plurality of reflected signals; and

processing the reflection signals to generate detection results so as to respectively judge whether an object exists in a plurality of sub-areas of the detection area;

configuring the processing circuit to perform an initialization phase, the initialization phase comprising:

executing the detection program for a first preset number of times; and

when the detection program is executed, respectively accumulating the times of detecting the existence of the object in the sub-regions, so as to generate a plurality of initial count values respectively corresponding to the sub-regions after the detection program is executed for the first preset times, wherein the initial count values are used for respectively indicating whether the existing static object exists in the sub-regions; and

configuring the processing circuit to perform a normal operation phase after the initialization phase, the normal operation phase comprising:

executing the detection program for a second preset number of times;

9. The detection method of claim 8, wherein the detection procedure further comprises configuring the processing circuit to:

and converting the acquired distance information and the acquired angle information into position information of a plurality of grids, wherein the grids correspond to the sub-regions.

10. The detecting method of claim 8, wherein during the initialization phase, when the initial count values for one of the sub-regions exceed a second count threshold, the accumulation is stopped, and the second count threshold is used as the initial count value.

11. The detection method of claim 8, wherein the normal operation phase further comprises configuring the processing circuit to treat the sub-regions where new stationary objects appear as a plurality of transition sub-regions, counting the number of transition sub-regions and comparing with a first threshold,

12. The detection method of claim 11, wherein the normal operation phase further comprises configuring the processing circuit to count the number of the transition sub-regions and compare the number with a second threshold, and in response to the number of the transition sub-regions being greater than zero and less than or equal to the second threshold, the processing circuit determines the detection region as a second event.

13. The detection method of claim 12, wherein the first threshold is greater than the second threshold.

14. The detection method of claim 8, wherein the second predetermined number of times is at least greater than the first predetermined number of times.