KR20160034753A - Apparatus and method for controlling driving of vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention proposes an apparatus and a method for controlling the driving of a vehicle, which controls the driving of a vehicle based on a radar image obtained by using a radar for a vehicle. According to the present invention, the apparatus for controlling the driving of a vehicle of the present invention comprises: a target information acquiring unit for acquiring information on a target located in the outside of the vehicle based on chirp signals with different grade values and sign values, which are included in a radar signal received; a radar image generating unit for generating a radar image on one or more directions of the vehicle based on the information on the target; and, a driving control unit for controlling the driving of the vehicle based on the radar image.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001]

The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for controlling running of a vehicle. More particularly, the present invention relates to an apparatus and method for controlling the running of a vehicle using a radar mounted on a vehicle.

Today's vehicles are equipped with ACC (Adaptive Cruise Control) system for sub-lane detection, LCA (Lane-Change Assist) system for rear side lane detection, STOP & GO system for front detection and anti- (Lane-Change Assist) / BSD (Blind-Spot Detection), which detects collision alarms and dispatch prevention functions by detecting vehicles that are detecting sides / / RPC (Rear Pre Crash) system is equipped with various intelligent automatic control system.

However, in order to smoothly control the vehicle using such an automatic control system, external situation information including the position of another vehicle, an obstacle, and the like is required to inform the forward or lateral situation of the vehicle. The reason for this is that, when the vehicle is controlled in a state in which the front or side of the vehicle is not accurately recognized, the vehicle may collide with other vehicles or obstacles, causing traffic accidents or causing personal injury.

European Patent No. 2,752,357 proposes a device for controlling the running of a vehicle. However, the above-described problem can not be solved because the device controls the running of the vehicle by adjusting the steering angle in accordance with the trajectory of travel.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a running control apparatus and method for a vehicle that controls the running of a vehicle based on a radar image obtained by using a radar for a vehicle.

However, the objects of the present invention are not limited to those mentioned above, and other objects not mentioned can be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information processing apparatus for acquiring information about a target located outside a vehicle based on chirp signals included in a received radar signal and having a slope value and a sign value different from each other A target information obtaining unit; A radar image generating unit for generating a radar image for at least one of the vehicles based on the information about the target; And a running control unit for controlling the running of the vehicle based on the radar image.

Preferably, the radar image generation unit uses the position of the target and the distance between the target and the vehicle as information on the target when generating the radar image.

Preferably, the radar image generating unit includes: an imaging area setting unit configured to set an area to be imaged in the vicinity of the target based on the position of the target; A distance measuring unit for measuring a distance between each of the ROIs and the Rx antennas selected in the region to be imaged; An associated signal acquisition unit for acquiring a signal related to each of the ROIs based on the distance; And a region of interest combiner for generating the radar image based on the region of interest selected based on the signal size.

Preferably, the related signal obtaining unit calculates a size of a signal associated with each of the ROIs based on a signal associated with the region in which the target is included.

Preferably, the ROI combining unit generates an initial image based on each chirp signal, and combines initial images to generate the radar image.

Preferably, the ROI combining unit multiplies pixel data located at the same coordinates in each initial image to generate the radar image.

Preferably, the travel control unit controls traveling of the vehicle based on whether the target is located in the same lane as the vehicle, based on the radar image.

Preferably, the travel control unit includes: a target position determination unit that determines whether the target is located in the same lane as the vehicle; A target width estimator for estimating a width of the target when it is determined that the target is located in the same lane as the vehicle; A target presence determining unit for determining whether a target is further included in the radar image based on the slope value and the sign value of the chirp signals; And a target type estimating unit that estimates a type of a target included in the radar image if it is determined that the radar image further includes a target.

Preferably, the travel control unit includes: a target position determination unit that determines whether the target is located in the same lane as the vehicle; A target detector for detecting the target based on clustering according to intensity distribution in the radar image if it is determined that the target is not located in the same lane as the vehicle; And a target characteristic estimator for estimating a size and a moving direction of the target based on the slope and the length of the intensity distribution.

Preferably, the target information obtaining unit uses a Frequency Modulation Continuous Wave (FMCW) radar signal as the radar signal.

Preferably, the target information obtaining unit may include a transformed signal obtaining unit for Fourier transforming each chirp signal to obtain transformed signals; A peak signal detector for detecting a peak signal based on a signal size among the converted signals; A signal pairing unit for pairing the peak signals when the peak signals are detected from the chirp signals having different slope values and the code values; And a position and direction calculating unit for calculating information on the target based on the combined signal by the pairing when the peak signals are paired and calculating the position of the target and the moving direction of the target with information on the target .

Preferably, the peak signal detector compares the converted signals with a reference signal to detect signals having the signal magnitude equal to or greater than the reference signal, and compares the signals having the signal magnitude equal to or greater than the reference signal to detect do.

Preferably, the position and direction calculator calculates a center frequency of the transmission radar signal obtained from the peak signals constituting the combined signal, a bandwidth of the transmission radar signal, a radiation time of the chirp signals, Calculating the distance between the target and the vehicle and the velocity of the target on the basis of the traveling speed, obtaining the angle information of the target based on the distance between the target and the vehicle and the phase information in each receiving channel, Calculates a position of the target, and calculates a moving direction of the target based on the position of the target and the velocity of the target.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for controlling a radar system, the method comprising: acquiring information on a target located outside a vehicle based on chirp signals included in a received radar signal and having different slope values and code values; Generating a radar image for at least one of the vehicles based on the information about the target; And controlling the running of the vehicle based on the radar image.

Advantageously, the generating step uses the position of the target and the distance between the target and the vehicle as information on the target when generating the radar image.

Advantageously, the generating comprises: setting an area to be imaged at the periphery of the target based on the position of the target; Measuring a distance between each of the ROIs and a receive antenna within the region to be imaged; Obtaining a signal associated with each ROI based on the distance; And generating the radar image based on the region of interest selected based on the signal size.

Advantageously, the step of acquiring the associated signal calculates a magnitude of a signal associated with each of the regions of interest based on a signal associated with the region containing the target.

Preferably, the step of generating the radar image based on the ROI generates an initial image based on each chirp signal, and combines the initial images to generate the radar image.

Preferably, the step of generating the radar image based on the ROI generates the radar image by multiplying the pixel data located at the same coordinates in each initial image.

Preferably, the controlling step controls the running of the vehicle based on whether the target is located on the same lane as the vehicle based on the radar image.

Preferably, the controlling step includes the steps of: determining whether the target is located in the same lane as the vehicle; Estimating a width of the target if the target is determined to be located in the same lane as the vehicle; Determining whether a target is further included in the radar image based on the slope value and the sign value of the chirp signals; And estimating a type of the target included in the radar image if it is determined that the target is further included in the radar image.

Preferably, the controlling step includes the steps of: determining whether the target is located in the same lane as the vehicle; Detecting the target based on clustering according to intensity distribution in the radar image if it is determined that the target is not located in the same lane as the vehicle; And estimating a size and a moving direction of the target based on the slope and the length of the intensity distribution.

Preferably, the acquiring step uses a Frequency Modulation Continuous Wave (FMCW) radar signal as the radar signal.

Advantageously, the obtaining comprises: Fourier transforming each chirp signal to obtain transformed signals; Detecting a peak signal based on a signal size among the converted signals; If the peak signals are detected from the chirp signals having different slope values and different code values from each other, And when the peak signals are paired, calculating information on the target based on the combined signal by pairing, and calculating the position of the target and the moving direction of the target with the information on the target.

Preferably, the detecting step may include comparing the converted signals with a reference signal to detect signals having the signal magnitude equal to or greater than the reference signal, comparing the signals having the signal magnitude equal to or greater than the reference signal to detect the peak signal do.

Advantageously, the calculating comprises calculating a center frequency of a transmitted radar signal obtained from the peak signals constituting the combined signal, a bandwidth of the transmitted radar signal, a radial time of the chirp signals, Calculating a distance between the target and the vehicle and a velocity of the target on the basis of the velocity and obtaining angle information of the target based on the distance between the target and the vehicle and the phase information in each receiving channel, And calculates the moving direction of the target based on the position of the target and the velocity of the target.

The present invention can achieve the following effects by controlling the running of the vehicle based on the radar image obtained by using the radar for the vehicle.

First, various target information such as the position of the target, the relative speed of the target, the distance to the target, and the moving direction of the target can be obtained by using the chirp signals whose slope values and code values are different from each other.

Second, the reliability of various ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance System) such as SCC (Smart Cruise System) and AEB (Autonomous Emergency Braking) can be improved by controlling the driving of the vehicle using radar images based on various target information.

Thirdly, it is possible to use a radar image instead of the camera image in the running control of the vehicle, thereby improving the image processing speed and reducing the cost.

Fourth, by using radar images based on various target information, it is possible to compensate the Doppler effect generated when the vehicle is moving.

1 is a flowchart illustrating a signal processing method of an FMCW radar that radiates a plurality of chirp signals according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a time-frequency relationship diagram of an FMCW waveform of a millimeter wave form output by a radar for a vehicle according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an FFT result for a signal obtained by summing signals obtained in a multi-channel receiver with respect to a received signal simulated by each chirp in the road when the waveform shown in FIG. 2 is output.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a detailed process of a front area-specific radar imaging according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a reference view for explaining the radar imaging process of FIG.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a chirp-to-radar image correlation generation process according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a simulation result of the radar imaging process described in FIGS. 4 to 6. FIG.
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a result of acquiring radar image information in an actual merit situation and performing radar imaging.
FIG. 9 is an enlarged view of a detection result portion by the front passenger car in FIG.
FIG. 10 is an enlarged view of a detection result portion by the right truck in FIG.
11 is a flowchart illustrating a target attribute derivation process according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
12 is a block diagram schematically showing a vehicle running control apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
13 is a block diagram showing in detail an internal configuration of a target information obtaining unit constituting the vehicle running control apparatus shown in Fig.
FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing in detail an internal configuration of a radar image generating unit constituting the vehicle running control apparatus shown in FIG. 12;
15 is a block diagram showing in detail the internal configuration of a travel control unit constituting the vehicle travel control apparatus shown in Fig.
16 is a flowchart schematically showing a method of controlling a vehicle running according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, the same reference numerals are used to designate the same or similar components throughout the drawings. In the following description of the present invention, a detailed description of known functions and configurations incorporated herein will be omitted when it may make the subject matter of the present invention rather unclear. In addition, the preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below, but it is needless to say that the technical idea of the present invention is not limited thereto and can be variously modified by those skilled in the art.

The present invention relates to a technique for generating a radar image for a vehicle front area based on radar transmission / reception information in a vehicle radar for transmitting and receiving a frequency modulation continuous wave (FMCW) waveform of a millimeter band, I suggest using it.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle radar which is mainly applied to ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance System) such as SCC (Smart Cruise System) and AEB (Autonomous Emergency Braking). The vehicle radar provides the position, relative speed, etc. of the target detected by the radar for the frontal situation of the vehicle. These are needed to determine the various attributes of the target, such as the shape of the target. The present invention describes a technique for radar imaging a front area of a vehicle based on a vehicle radar.

In addition, the present invention describes the use of driving information by recognizing the size and the attribute of the forward target based on the generated front area radar image.

1 is a flowchart illustrating a signal processing method of an FMCW radar that radiates a plurality of chirp signals according to an embodiment of the present invention.

First, a Frequency Modulation Continuous Wave (FMCW) radar outputs an FMCW waveform using a transmission antenna (S110). The FMCW waveform consists of a number of chirp signals. Thereafter, the FMCW radar receives each chirp signal using a multi-channel receive antenna (S120).

Then, the FMCW radar sequentially performs Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) and Constant False Alarm Rate (CFAR) on each received chirp signal (S130 and S140). Thereafter, the FMCW radar detects a peak signal for a signal larger than the noise signal (S150).

The frequency (f _b ) at which the peak signal occurs is represented by the sum of the frequency (f _R ) by the distance of the target and the frequency (f _v ) by the speed of the target. This can be expressed by the following equation.

f _b = f _R + f _v = ((BW ÷ τ) × (2R / c)) + ((2v ÷ _c )

In the above, BW denotes the bandwidth of the transmission signal, and τ denotes the emission time of the chirp signal. Also, R means the distance to the target, and c means the traveling speed of the radio wave. Here, the propagation refers to the signal output by the FMCW radar. The v indicates the speed of the target, and f _c and refers to the center frequency of the transmission signal.

However, when the single chirp signal is used, the frequency obtained from the single chirp signal can not accurately know the distances and velocities of the target because the components due to the distance of the target and the components due to the speed are mixed.

Therefore, in the present invention, it is necessary to solve the ambiguity of distance and velocity through a process of pairing peak information obtained from a plurality of chirp signals having different slopes and signs. This process is called an RV-paring process (S160, S170).

In the present invention, the FMCW radar outputs the FMCW waveform of the type shown in FIG. 2 in step S110 in order to solve the ambiguity of the distance and speed of the target. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a relationship between a time and a frequency of a frequency modulation continuous wave (FMCW) waveform of a millimeter wave output by a vehicle radar according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an FFT result for a signal obtained by summing signals obtained in a multi-channel receiver with respect to a received signal simulated by each chirp in the road when the waveform shown in FIG. 2 is output.

The signal simulation condition was simulated in a vehicle radar mounted on a vehicle running at a specific speed, with a vehicle running at a specific speed of about 60 m ahead of the radar and a continuous guardrail on the right side. The X-axis of each graph is the frequency index, and the Y-axis is the magnitude of the signal.

Dotted line 210 is a calculated CFAR (Constant False Alarm Rate) baseline.

Peak signals larger in magnitude than the CFAR reference line 210 are due to each simulated signal, and for the sake of convenience, the peak signals for the front vehicle are indicated by circles (220, 230, 240, 250). Peak signals not represented by a circle are signals simulated by guard rails.

The corresponding peak signals for each target are removed from the ambiguity through the RV-paring process (S170) to obtain the distance and velocity information of the target.

The FMCW radar acquires the distance and velocity information of the target, and finally obtains the position and angle components of the target by calculating the angle information of the target based on the phase difference of the signal obtained in the channel receiver with respect to the peak signal (S180) .

As described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3, when the position and angle components of the target are obtained using the FMCW radar, the radar image generating device then generates a chord-by-radar image radar imaging process, And an attribute derivation process. Hereinafter, each step will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a detailed process of a front area-specific radar imaging according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. And FIG. 5 is a reference diagram for explaining the radar imaging process of FIG.

4 is a signal processing method for generating a radar image based on a position of a target acquired through an R-V paring process.

The signal processing procedure for radar imaging of the target based on the multi-channel received signal at the specific chirp with respect to the position information of the acquired target is as follows.

First, the radar image generation apparatus sets up an imaging area for performing radar imaging based on the positional information of the target (S310). The imaging area 410 is subdivided into a plurality of ROs 420 by the radar image generating device as shown in FIG. 5 (S320). Reference numeral 430 denotes a position of the target acquired through the R-V paring process.

Since the radar image generation unit is a multi-channel receiver and each area of interest as shown in Figure _{5 (A 1, A 2,} A 3, ..., A N) Distance _{(R A1, R A2, R} A3, ..., R between _AN ) is obtained (S330).

The radar image generation apparatus obtains distances according to step S330 and acquires signals corresponding to the respective distances. In this case, the frequency index of the acquired signal is an index having distance / velocity ambiguity, but it is assumed that the index of the peak is a frequency due to the distance of the target (S340). Then, the radar image generating apparatus obtains the multi-channel receiver signals corresponding to the target position frequency index based on the assumption in step S340 (S350).

Thereafter, the radar image generation apparatus calculates the signal size of the target of interest by adding the signals after correcting the calculated distances for each of the acquired target information (S360).

When the signal size calculation for all the ROIs is completed through S320 through S360, the radar image generation apparatus completes the radar imaging of the periphery of the target position (S380).

Next, the chirped radar image correlation generation process will be described. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a chirp-to-radar image correlation generation process according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

The process of FIG. 6 refers to the detailed signal processing process of the chirped radar image correlation performed after performing the radar imaging process of FIG. 4 on a chirp-by-chirp basis.

4 is completed (S510), the radar image generation apparatus multiplies the respective image pixel data of the radar images around the N target positions generated for each chirp to obtain a correlation degree (S520). In this case, a part having a strong signal, that is, a part having a high correlation is reinforced. When there is a pixel having a small size among N pixels, the signal is attenuated because the correlation is low.

After step S520, the radar image generation apparatus completes the radar imaging process for the target position (S530).

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a simulation result of the radar imaging process described in FIGS. 4 to 6. FIG.

Fig. 7 is a view simulating a situation where a vehicle traveling at a specific speed of 60 m ahead and a guard rail at an interval of 10 m near the right 10 m in a vehicle running with a front radar mounted thereon.

In Fig. 7, the position of the target obtained from the radar signal processing result is indicated by a red dot.

In the simulation according to FIG. 7, all four chirps (Chirp 1, Chirp 2, Chirp 3, and Chirp 4) were used and the periphery of each target was radar imaged.

Referring to FIG. 7, since the frequency index has a distance / velocity ambiguity in the radar imaging according to each destination, portions having undesired intensity are generated around the image. The correlation of the four chirps was obtained at the far right of FIG. 7 (Total). In this case, the image of the simulated signal is obtained, and it can be seen that the portion where the signal is largely generated in the unintended portion is removed.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a result of acquiring radar image information in an actual merit situation and performing radar imaging.

A passenger car that is about 15m ahead and a truck about 5m and 10m on the right were detected. Radar imaging was performed for each detected information and the final radar image was generated by calculating the correlation.

The quality of the radar image is influenced by the transmission bandwidth and the antenna aperture size of the receiving array antenna. When the transmission bandwidth is high, the resolution in the distance direction (y-axis) is improved, and when the antenna aperture is large, the resolution in the lateral direction (x-axis) is improved. In the case of FIG. 8, since the size of the antenna aperture is small, it is confirmed that the resolution quality in the lateral direction is somewhat poor.

A database can be acquired for the radar image to determine the shape and attribute of the target. For example, it is possible to derive the width and shape of the front vehicle, determine the length of the side vehicle, and determine whether the vehicle is lane-breaking.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged view of a detection result portion by the front passenger car in FIG.

In the case of the front vehicle, the radar transmission / reception data reflects the signals reflected from the bumper, the signal reflected between the vehicle rear window and the vehicle roof, and in some cases, the side mirror. In this case, a radar image is generated as shown in FIG. In this case, the target width information 610 can be estimated based on the horizontal distribution of the radar image.

In the radar image, the portion of the signal whose magnitude increases once more about 1.5 m behind the portion where the signal intensity is large is generated once again, so that the shape of the target 620 can be estimated. Such a signal size distribution varies depending on the vehicle, such as the distance of a second signal size depending on a sedan, a hatchback, a truck, and the like. In addition, there is a feature that the portion of the second signal increases in the non-vehicle person, the sign, and the like. Thus, it is possible to estimate the width 610 of the front vehicle and the shape of the frontal target 620 based on this characteristic.

FIG. 10 is an enlarged view of a detection result portion by the right truck in FIG. In Fig. 10, the small circles 630 near the right lane of about 5m and 8m are the detection results of the radar.

In a real vehicle radar, a tracking filter process is performed based on the detection results over time. Through the tracking filter, the two detection information are recognized as being caused by one target as indicated by a dotted line 640 on the right side of FIG.

Previous studies have used the number of targets detected in the tracking process to estimate the size of the vehicle. In the present invention, the size of the target in the longitudinal direction is estimated based on the image intensity distribution 650 of the radar image when generating the detection information. In addition, when the radar image intensity distribution 650 is inclined, it can be judged that the side vehicle is an interrupted phenomenon in the sub lane.

Therefore, the present invention can be utilized to recognize the side vehicle length and the interrupted phenomenon in the sub lane based on the size of the radar image intensity distribution 650 and the inclination of the distribution 650.

Next, the process of deriving the target attribute will be described. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a target attribute derivation process according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

11 shows a signal processing method for deriving a target attribute.

The target information obtaining apparatus estimates the width of the target based on the horizontal signal intensity distribution in the radar image (S721) when it is determined that the position of the target is within the own lane in the radar image generated by FIG. 6 (S710).

Thereafter, the target information acquiring device senses a second portion where the signal size increases on the radar image (S722).

If the second part is not detected (S723), the target information acquiring device determines that the target no longer exists (S724). This is because the probability of a target with a very small distance / direction / length distribution is high and it is difficult to detect it as vehicle detection information.

On the other hand, if the second part is sensed (S723), the target information acquiring device judges that there is more target. The target information acquiring device recognizes that the vehicle is a vehicle based on the threshold value or the like (S725).

Then, the target information obtaining apparatus estimates the vehicle type from the recognized state to a passenger car, truck, etc. based on the database (S726).

On the other hand, when the target position is determined as the near side lane (S710), the target information obtaining apparatus determines that the vehicle exists on the side. However, in this case, a plurality of pieces of detection information may appear in one vehicle.

In this case, the target information obtaining apparatus performs clustering on the target based on the speed of the detected information and the tracking signal processing (S731).

Thereafter, the target information obtaining apparatus calculates an effective radar image intensity distribution area through the radar image intensity distribution (S732).

Thereafter, the target information obtaining apparatus calculates the length of the inclination and the distribution with respect to the calculated intensity distribution (S733, S734), and determines the length of the vehicle and the intent of the obstacle (S735).

As a result of the determination in step S724, the target information obtaining apparatus determines the type and attributes of the target based on the determination result in step S726, the determination result in step S735, and the like (S740).

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention have been described with reference to Figs. 1 to 11. Fig. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.

First, in front car radar, it is difficult to follow the size of the leading and side car with only the front target information of the vehicle, and there is a part where detection of the clipping phenomenon is difficult. The present invention can overcome these disadvantages.

Second, although existing vehicle radar does not provide information about the property of detection information, it provides property information such as the form of detection information when this technology is applied, so it can improve reliability in applications such as SCC and AEB And the application of a separate application field can be examined.

Third, because of the lack of recognition function for the front target in the case of the vehicle radar, applications such as AEB require convergence with the camera. If the technology is matured, there is no need to integrate with the camera, which leads to cost savings.

Next, preferred embodiments of the present invention, which can be inferred from the embodiments of the present invention described with reference to Figs. 1 to 11, will be described.

12 is a block diagram schematically showing a vehicle running control apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

12, the vehicle running control apparatus 800 includes a target information obtaining section 810, a radar image generating section 820, a travel control section 830, a power source section 840 and a main control section 850.

The power supply unit 840 performs a function of supplying power to each configuration of the vehicle running control device 800. [ The main control unit 850 controls the overall operation of each component constituting the vehicle drive control device 800. [ When it is taken into consideration that the vehicle drive control apparatus 800 is mounted on a vehicle to support ADAS (Adaptive Cruise Control) or SCC (Smart Cruise Control), a power supply unit 840 and a main control unit 850 May not be included in the present embodiment.

The target information obtaining unit 810 obtains information about a target located outside the vehicle based on chirp signals included in the received radar signal and having different slope and sign values. The target information obtaining unit 810 is a concept corresponding to the FMCW radar described with reference to Figs.

The target information obtaining unit 810 can use a frequency modulation continuous wave (FMCW) radar signal as a radar signal.

In this case, the target information obtaining unit 810 includes a converted signal obtaining unit 811, a peak signal detecting unit 812, a signal pairing unit 813, and a position and direction calculating unit 814 as shown in FIG. 13 .

13 is a block diagram showing in detail an internal configuration of a target information obtaining unit constituting the vehicle running control apparatus shown in Fig.

The converted signal obtaining unit 811 performs a function of Fourier transforming each chirp signal to obtain converted signals.

The peak signal detector 812 performs a function of detecting a peak signal based on the signal amplitude among the converted signals.

The peak signal detector 812 detects the signals having the signal magnitude equal to or greater than the reference signal by comparing the converted signals with the reference signal, and can detect the peak signal by comparing the signals having the signal magnitude equal to or greater than the reference signal. The peak signal detector 812 can use a noise signal as a reference signal.

The signal pairing unit 813 performs a function of pairing the peak signals when the peak signals are detected from chirp signals having different slope values and sign values.

When the peak signals are paired, the position and direction calculating unit 814 calculates information on the target based on the combined signal by the pairing. The position and direction calculating unit 814 calculates the position of the target and the moving direction of the target with information about the target.

Based on the center frequency of the transmitting radar signal obtained from the peak signals constituting the combining signal, the bandwidth of the transmitting radar signal, the radial time of the chirp signals, and the traveling speed of the transmitting radar signal, the position and direction calculating section 814 calculates, The distance between the vehicle and the vehicle, and the speed of the target.

The position and direction calculating unit 814 calculates the position of the target by obtaining the angle information of the target based on the distance between the target and the vehicle and the phase information in each receiving channel, The moving direction of the target can be calculated.

Referring back to FIG.

The radar image generating unit 820 performs a function of generating a radar image for at least one of the vehicles based on the information about the target. The radar image generation unit 820 is a concept corresponding to the radar image generation apparatus described with reference to FIGS.

The radar image generating unit 820 generates a radar image for the front of the vehicle, a radar image for the left room of the vehicle, a radar image for the right room of the vehicle, and a radar image for the rear of the vehicle based on the information about the target Can be generated.

The radar image generating unit 820 may use the position of the target and the distance between the target and the vehicle as information about the target when generating the radar image.

14, the radar image generating unit 820 includes an imaging area setting unit 821, a distance measuring unit 822, an associated signal obtaining unit 823, and a ROI combining unit 824 .

FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing in detail an internal configuration of a radar image generating unit constituting the vehicle running control apparatus shown in FIG. 12;

The imaging area setting unit 821 performs a function of setting an area to be imaged around the target based on the position of the target.

The distance measuring unit 822 measures the distance between each of the ROIs and the Rx antennas selected in the region to be imaged.

The related signal acquisition unit 823 acquires a signal related to each ROI based on the distance between each ROI and the Rx antenna.

The related signal obtaining unit 823 may calculate the size of a signal associated with each ROI based on a signal associated with the region including the target.

The ROI combining unit 824 performs a function of generating a radar image based on the ROI selected based on the signal size.

The ROI combining unit 824 generates an initial image based on each chirp signal and combines initial images to generate a radar image. At this time, the ROI combining unit 824 may multiply the pixel data located at the same coordinates in each initial image to generate a radar image.

Referring back to FIG.

The travel controller 830 controls the travel of the vehicle based on the radar image. The travel control unit 830 is a concept including the target information acquisition apparatus described with reference to Fig.

The travel control unit 830 can control the traveling of the vehicle based on whether the target is located on the same lane as the vehicle based on the radar image.

15, the travel control unit 830 includes a target position determination unit 831, a target width estimation unit 832, a target presence determination unit 833, a target type estimation unit 834, a target detection unit 835 and a target property estimation unit 836. [

15 is a block diagram showing in detail the internal configuration of a travel control unit constituting the vehicle travel control apparatus shown in Fig.

The target position determination unit 831 performs a function of determining whether the target is located on the same lane as the vehicle.

The target width estimating unit 832 estimates the width of the target when it is determined that the target is located in the same lane as the vehicle.

The target presence determination unit 833 determines whether a radar image includes a target based on the slope value and the sign value of the chirp signals.

The target type estimating unit 834 estimates the type of the target included in the radar image if it is determined that the target is further included in the radar image.

If it is determined that the target is not located in the same lane as the vehicle, the target detecting unit 835 performs a function of detecting the target based on the clustering according to the intensity distribution in the radar image.

The target characteristic estimating unit 836 estimates the size and the moving direction of the target based on the slope and the length of the intensity distribution in the radar image.

Next, a method of operating the vehicle drive control apparatus 800 will be described. 16 is a flowchart schematically showing a method of controlling a vehicle running according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

First, the target information obtaining unit 810 obtains information on a target located outside the vehicle based on chirp signals included in the received radar signal and having different slope values and code values (S810).

Thereafter, the radar image generating unit 820 generates a radar image for at least one of the vehicles based on the information about the target (S820).

Thereafter, the travel controller 830 controls the travel of the vehicle based on the radar image (S830).

It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and all elements constituting the embodiment of the present invention described above are described as being combined or operated in one operation. That is, within the scope of the present invention, all of the components may be selectively coupled to one or more of them. In addition, although all of the components may be implemented as one independent hardware, some or all of the components may be selectively combined to perform a part or all of the functions in one or a plurality of hardware. As shown in FIG. In addition, such a computer program may be stored in a computer readable medium such as a USB memory, a CD disk, a flash memory, etc., and read and executed by a computer to implement an embodiment of the present invention. As the recording medium of the computer program, a magnetic recording medium, an optical recording medium, a carrier wave medium, and the like can be included.

Furthermore, all terms including technical or scientific terms have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs, unless otherwise defined in the Detailed Description. Commonly used terms, such as predefined terms, should be interpreted to be consistent with the contextual meanings of the related art, and are not to be construed as ideal or overly formal, unless expressly defined to the contrary.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications, substitutions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims. will be. Therefore, the embodiments disclosed in the present invention and the accompanying drawings are intended to illustrate and not to limit the technical spirit of the present invention, and the scope of the technical idea of the present invention is not limited by these embodiments and the accompanying drawings . The scope of protection of the present invention should be construed according to the following claims, and all technical ideas within the scope of equivalents should be construed as falling within the scope of the present invention.

Claims (14)

A target information obtaining unit for obtaining information on a target located outside the vehicle based on chirp signals included in the received radar signal and having different slope values and code values;
A radar image generating unit for generating a radar image for at least one of the vehicles based on the information about the target; And
A driving control unit for controlling the running of the vehicle based on the radar image,
And a controller for controlling the running of the vehicle. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the radar image generating unit uses the position of the target and the distance between the target and the vehicle as information on the target when generating the radar image. 3. The method of claim 2,
Wherein the radar image generating unit comprises:
An imaging area setting unit for setting an area to be imaged at the periphery of the target based on the position of the target;
A distance measuring unit for measuring a distance between each of the ROIs and the Rx antennas selected in the region to be imaged;
An associated signal acquisition unit for acquiring a signal related to each of the ROIs based on the distance; And
An area of interest (ROI) for generating the radar image based on the ROI selected based on the signal size,
And a controller for controlling the running of the vehicle. The method of claim 3,
Wherein the related signal obtaining unit calculates a size of a signal related to each of the ROIs based on a signal associated with the region including the target. The method of claim 3,
Wherein the ROI combining unit generates an initial image based on each chirp signal and combines initial images to generate the radar image. 6. The method of claim 5,
Wherein the ROI combining unit generates the radar image by multiplying pixel data located at the same coordinates in each initial image. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the travel control unit controls the traveling of the vehicle based on whether the target is located on the same lane as the vehicle based on the radar image. 8. The method of claim 7,
The driving control unit includes:
A target position determiner for determining whether the target is located in the same lane as the vehicle;
A target width estimator for estimating a width of the target when it is determined that the target is located in the same lane as the vehicle;
A target presence determining unit for determining whether a target is further included in the radar image based on the slope value and the sign value of the chirp signals; And
A target type estimating unit for estimating a type of a target included in the radar image if it is determined that the target is further included in the radar image,
And a controller for controlling the running of the vehicle. 8. The method of claim 7,
The driving control unit includes:
A target position determiner for determining whether the target is located in the same lane as the vehicle;
A target detector for detecting the target based on clustering according to intensity distribution in the radar image if it is determined that the target is not located in the same lane as the vehicle; And
A target characteristic estimating unit estimating a size and a moving direction of the targets based on the slope and the length of the intensity distribution,
And a controller for controlling the running of the vehicle. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the target information obtaining unit uses a Frequency Modulation Continuous Wave (FMCW) radar signal as the radar signal. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the target information obtaining unit comprises:
A conversion signal obtaining unit for Fourier transforming each chirp signal to obtain converted signals;
A peak signal detector for detecting a peak signal based on a signal size among the converted signals;
A signal pairing unit for pairing the peak signals when the peak signals are detected from the chirp signals having different slope values and the code values; And
And a position and direction calculation unit for calculating the position of the target and the direction of movement of the target with information on the target based on the combined signal by the pairing when the peak signals are paired,
And a controller for controlling the running of the vehicle. 12. The method of claim 11,
Wherein the peak signal detector compares the converted signals with a reference signal to detect signals having the signal magnitude equal to or greater than the reference signal and detects the peak signal by comparing signals having the signal magnitude equal to or greater than the reference signal, Of the vehicle. 12. The method of claim 11,
Wherein the position and direction calculation unit calculates a position and direction of the transmission signal based on the center frequency of the transmission radar signal obtained from the peak signals constituting the combined signal, the bandwidth of the transmission radar signal, the emission time of the chirp signals, Calculating a distance between the target and the vehicle and a velocity of the target and obtaining angle information of the target based on the distance between the target and the vehicle and the phase information in each receiving channel, And calculates a moving direction of the target based on the position of the target and the velocity of the target. Acquiring information on a target located outside the vehicle based on chirp signals included in the received radar signal and having different slope values and code values;
Generating a radar image for at least one of the vehicles based on the information about the target; And
Controlling the running of the vehicle based on the radar image
And a control unit for controlling the running of the vehicle.

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