WO2023073794A1

WO2023073794A1 - Object-sensing device, object-sensing method, and program

Info

Publication number: WO2023073794A1
Application number: PCT/JP2021/039403
Authority: WO
Inventors: 慎吾山之内; 正行有吉
Original assignee: 日本電気株式会社
Priority date: 2021-10-26
Filing date: 2021-10-26
Publication date: 2023-05-04
Also published as: JPWO2023073794A1

Abstract

This object-sensing device (1000) comprises a transmission unit (1101) for irradiating a subject (1003) with electric waves (1002) using a transmission antenna, a reception unit (1102) for receiving an electric wave reflected by the subject (1003) using a reception antenna and generating an intermediate-frequency signal, and a computation device (1211). The computation device (1211) detects the reflection intensity of the subject (1003) from the intermediate-frequency signal, and furthermore detects the positional distribution of the subject (1003) from the reflection intensity. The computation device (1211) next calculates the dependence of the reflection intensity on the positional distribution of the subject as a reflection intensity correction amount from the detected positional distribution. The computation device (1211) corrects the reflection intensity using the reflection intensity correction amount, thereby removing the dependence on the positional distribution of the subject from the reflection intensity and calculating a corrected reflection intensity that depends on only characteristics (e.g., reflectance and permittivity) that are inherent to the material of the subject (1003).

Description

OBJECT DETECTION DEVICE, OBJECT DETECTION METHOD AND PROGRAM

The present invention relates to an object detection device, an object detection method, and a program for irradiating a detection target with radio waves and recognizing or identifying the existence of the detection target from the radio waves reflected from the target.

Unlike light, radio waves (microwaves, millimeter waves, terahertz waves, etc.) have an excellent ability to penetrate objects. As an example of utilization of the radio wave transmission ability, an object hidden under clothes or in a bag is irradiated with radio waves that pass through the clothes or bag from a radar device, and the radio waves reflected by the object are received by the radar device, An apparatus has been proposed that inspects the article based on the received radio waves. In particular, the technique of measuring the physical properties of an object, such as its reflectance or dielectric constant, using radio waves is useful in detecting or identifying illegal chemical substances such as explosives and drugs. Reflectance and dielectric constant are physical properties that are related to each other, and the value of one can be derived from the other.

In Non-Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 1, a technique for remotely measuring the dielectric constant of an object using radio waves has been proposed as a method for detecting or identifying chemical substances using radio waves.

In Non-Patent Document 1, an object is irradiated with radio waves from a radar device, the radio waves reflected from the object are received by the radar device, an intermediate frequency signal is generated based on the received radio waves, and the dielectric constant of the object is generated from the intermediate frequency signal A method for estimating is proposed. Specifically, a geometric optics model is used in which the permittivity of the object to be measured is an unknown variable. The geometrical optics model can calculate the intermediate frequency signal by giving the value of the dielectric constant, which is an unknown variable. Then, the dielectric constant of the object is estimated from the dielectric constant value of the geometrical optics model that best reproduces the measured value of the intermediate frequency signal. However, in Non-Patent Document 1, a geometrical optics model is derived only for the case of dielectrics with a structure in which multiple layers are arranged in parallel, so there is a problem that the dielectric constant of an object of arbitrary shape cannot be measured. .

Patent Document 1 proposes a method of measuring the dielectric constant with an object detection device equipped with a radar and a camera. Specifically, radio waves are emitted from a radar device to an object and a background reflector, and a three-dimensional microwave image is generated based on the radio waves reflected from the object and the background reflector. The object detection device measures the distance from the object detection device to the object and the background reflector using the three-dimensional microwave image and the camera image, and further estimates the dielectric constant from the measured distance. In Patent Literature 1, the dielectric constant of an arbitrary-shaped object can be measured when a predetermined distance can be measured using a three-dimensional microwave image and a camera image.

Patent No. 5260799

The present invention solves the following problems in a method of measuring the dielectric constant of an object as a means of detecting or identifying chemical substances with an object detection device.

The method of Non-Patent Document 1 has the problem that the dielectric constant of an object of arbitrary shape cannot be measured.

The method of Patent Document 1 is based on the premise that radio waves pass through an object. Therefore, when the reflectance or absorptivity of the object is high, the amount of radio waves transmitted through the object is reduced, and there is a problem that the dielectric constant of the object cannot be measured correctly. Moreover, the method of Patent Document 1 requires a camera in addition to the radar. In particular, since it is necessary to synchronize the operation of the radar and the camera, there is a problem that when the object to be measured moves, the deviation of the synchronization between the radar and the camera causes a measurement error of the dielectric constant.

One aspect of the present invention is an object detection device for detecting an object using radio waves, which includes transmitting means including a plurality of transmitting antennas for irradiating radio waves toward the object, and the radio waves reflected from the object. further, receiving means for generating an intermediate frequency signal from the received signal received by the receiving antenna, and the reflection intensity at an arbitrary position of the radio wave from the intermediate frequency signal (arbitrary position reflection intensity ); object position detection means for detecting the position of the object (object position) from the arbitrary position reflection intensity detected by the arbitrary position reflection intensity detection means; object reflection intensity detection means for detecting reflection intensity at the object position (object reflection intensity) from the arbitrary position reflection intensity detected by the position reflection intensity detection means; intensity correction amount calculation means for calculating a correction amount of the reflection intensity based on the position of the object; and the object reflection intensity detected by the object reflection intensity detection means and the correction calculated by the intensity correction amount calculation means. and a corrected reflection intensity calculation means for calculating the corrected reflection intensity based on the quantity.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an object detection method for detecting an object using radio waves, comprising the steps of irradiating radio waves from a transmitting means having a plurality of transmitting antennas toward the object; receiving the radio waves reflected from the object and generating an intermediate frequency signal from the received signal received by the receiving antenna; and generating an intermediate frequency signal from the radio wave from the intermediate frequency signal by an arbitrary position reflection intensity detecting means. and detecting the position of the object (object position ), detecting the reflection intensity (object reflection intensity) at the position of the object from the arbitrary position reflection intensity detected by the arbitrary position reflection intensity detection means by the object reflection intensity detection means; calculating a correction amount of the reflection intensity based on the object position detected by the object position detection means by an intensity correction amount calculation means; and calculating a corrected reflection intensity based on the object reflection intensity and the correction amount calculated by the intensity correction amount calculation means.

Further, one aspect of the present invention includes transmitting means having a plurality of transmitting antennas for radiating radio waves toward the object, and a plurality of receiving antennas for receiving the radio waves reflected from the object, and In an object detection device comprising: receiving means for generating an intermediate frequency signal from a received signal received by a receiving antenna; a step of detecting the position of the object (object position) from the arbitrary position reflection intensity detected by the arbitrary position reflection intensity detection means by an object position detection means; an object reflection intensity detection means detecting a reflection intensity (object reflection intensity) at the position of the object from the arbitrary position reflection intensity detected by the arbitrary position reflection intensity detection means; calculating a correction amount of the reflection intensity based on the object position detected by the object position detection means; and computing the object reflection intensity detected by the object reflection intensity detection means and the and calculating a corrected reflection intensity based on the correction amount calculated by the intensity correction amount calculation means.

According to the present invention, it is possible to measure the dielectric constant of an object of arbitrary shape as a means of detecting or identifying chemical substances. In addition, according to the present invention, since the material-specific characteristics are calculated using the reflected waves on the surface of the object, the material-specific characteristics of the object can be calculated even when the amount of radio waves transmitted through the dielectric (object) is small. There is an effect that can be calculated. Moreover, according to the present invention, the dielectric constant of an object of arbitrary shape can be calculated only by a radar device without using a camera, so that it is effective in solving the problem of measurement errors due to desynchronization between the radar and the camera.

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing the configuration of an object detection device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the object detection device according to the embodiment of the invention. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the object detection device according to the embodiment of the invention. FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing an object detection method according to an embodiment of the invention. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of the positional relationship between the object detection device and the target object according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of the positional relationship between the object detection device and the target object according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an example of a computer that implements the object detection device according to the embodiment of the invention.

Preferred embodiments of the transmission device and transmission method according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In each of the drawings shown below, the same or corresponding portions are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will not be repeated.

An object detection device, an object detection method, and a program according to embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7. FIG. In this embodiment, errors due to sensors other than radar are eliminated, and the characteristics (reflectance or dielectric constant) inherent in the material of an object of arbitrary shape are measured even for objects with little transmission of radio waves. Disclosed is an object detection apparatus, an object detection method, and a program for enabling.

(First embodiment)
[Device configuration]
First, the configuration of the object detection device according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

An object detection device 1000 according to Embodiment 1 shown in FIG. 1 is a device for detecting an object 1003 by radio waves. As shown in FIG. 1 , the object detection device 1000 includes a transmitter 1101 , a receiver 1102 and an arithmetic device 1211 .

Next, FIG. 2 shows the internal configuration of the transmitting section 1101 and the receiving section 1102 in the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2 , in the transmitting/receiving apparatus 1001 according to the first embodiment, the transmitting section 1101 includes an oscillator 1201 and a transmitting antenna 1202 . Also, the receiving section 1102 includes a receiving antenna 1203 , a mixer 1204 and an interface circuit 1205 . Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 1, the transmitting section 1101 and the receiving section 1102 are connected via the terminal 1208 . A transmitting antenna 1202 and a receiving antenna 1203 are antenna arrays each composed of a plurality of antennas.

Next, FIG. 3 shows the internal configuration of the arithmetic unit 1211 according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3, the arithmetic device 1211 in Embodiment 1 includes an arbitrary position reflection intensity detection unit 1301, an object position detection unit 1302, an object reflection intensity detection unit 1303, and an intensity correction amount calculation unit 1304. , a corrected reflection intensity calculation unit 1305 , a feature amount calculation unit 1306 , and an object detection/identification unit 1307 .

[Device operation]
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of object detection device 1000 according to the first embodiment. 1 to 3 will be appropriately referred to in the following description. Further, in Embodiment 1, the object detection method is implemented by operating the object detection device 1000 . Therefore, the description of the object detection method in Embodiment 1 is replaced with the description of the operation of object detection apparatus 1000 below.

First, the overall flow of the flow in FIG. 4 will be explained. Each step is then described in detail.

-Overall flow-
In the device configuration shown in FIG. 1, a transmitting unit 1101 irradiates a radio wave 1002 as a transmission signal toward an object to be detected (hereinafter referred to as "object") 1003 (step A1).

The receiving unit 1102 in FIG. 1 receives the radio wave 1004 reflected by the object 1003 as a received signal (step A2).

The receiving section 1102 further mixes the received signal with the transmission signal generated by the transmitting section 1101 to generate an intermediate frequency signal (hereinafter referred to as "IF (Intermediate Frequency) signal"). Further, the receiving unit 1102 outputs the generated IF signal to the arithmetic device 1211 (step A3).

Next, the arbitrary position reflection intensity detection unit 1301 in the arithmetic unit 1211 shown in FIG. 3 detects the reflection intensity at the arbitrary position (arbitrary position reflection intensity) based on the IF signal (step A4). Arbitrary position means that the position range to be measured is not limited to the position of the object and is an arbitrary position. Note that the position range (arbitrary position) to be measured is usually a three-dimensional space.

Next, the object position detection unit 1302 in the arithmetic unit 1211 shown in FIG. (x, y) is detected (step A5).

Furthermore, the object reflection intensity detection unit 1303 in the arithmetic unit 1211 shown in FIG. Object reflection intensity p _opj (x, y) is detected (step A6).

Next, the intensity correction amount calculation unit 1304 in the arithmetic unit 1211 shown in FIG. 3 calculates the intensity correction amount based on the object position z(x, y) detected by the object position detection unit 1302 ( Step A7). The intensity correction amount corresponds to the object reflection intensity depending on the object position z(x,y).

Next, the corrected reflection intensity calculation unit 1305 in the arithmetic device 1211 shown in FIG. A corrected reflection intensity is calculated based on _opj (x,y) (step A8). The corrected reflection intensity corresponds to the reflection intensity that depends on the properties (permittivity or reflectance) inherent to the material of the object 1003 .

Next, the feature amount calculation unit 1306 in the arithmetic unit 1211 shown in FIG. 3 calculates the feature amount based on the corrected reflection intensity calculated by the corrected reflection intensity calculation unit 1305 (step A9).

Next, the object detection/identification unit 1307 in the arithmetic unit 1211 shown in FIG. 3 detects or identifies the object 1003 based on the feature amount calculated by the feature amount calculation unit 1306 (step A10).

-Details of each step-
Next, among the steps shown in FIG. 4, details of steps A1 to A3 performed by the transmitting/receiving apparatus 1001 will be described.

[Step A1]
In transmitting section 1101 shown in the internal configuration in FIG. 2, oscillator 1201 generates an RF signal (radio waves). An RF signal (radio wave) generated by an oscillator 1201 is emitted from a transmitting antenna 1202 as a radio wave 1002 to an object 1003 .

[Step A2]
A radio wave 1004 reflected by an object 1003 is received by a receiving antenna 1203 in the receiving section 1102 shown in FIG.

[Step A3]
In the receiving section 1102 shown in the internal configuration in FIG. 2, the mixer 1204 mixes the RF signal input from the oscillator 1201 via the terminal 1208 and the radio wave (receiving signal) received by the receiving antenna 1203. Thus, an IF signal is generated. The IF signal generated by mixer 1204 is transmitted to arithmetic unit 1211 via interface circuit 1205 . The interface circuit 1205 has a function of converting an analog IF signal into a digital signal that can be handled by the arithmetic unit 1211 and outputs the obtained digital signal to the arithmetic unit 1211 .

Next, among the steps shown in FIG. 4, details of steps A4 to A10 performed by the arithmetic device 1211 shown in the internal configuration of FIG. 3 will be described.

[Step A4]
In arithmetic device 1211 , the IF signal output from receiving section 1102 is input to arbitrary position reflection intensity detecting section 1301 . Arbitrary position reflection intensity detection section 1301 detects reflection intensity defined as the intensity of a reflected wave reflected at an arbitrary position (x, y, z) based on the IF signal output from reception section 1102 . Detect as intensity p _arb (x,y,z). A method for detecting the reflection intensity at any position includes, for example, a beamformer method. Note that the coordinate axes of the position (x, y, z) may be set arbitrarily. As an example, the x-axis and y-axis may be taken parallel to the antenna array plane composed of the transmitting antenna 1202 and the receiving antenna 1203, and the z-axis may be taken perpendicular to the antenna array plane.

[Step A5]
The arbitrary position reflection intensity _parb (x, y, z) detected by the arbitrary position reflection intensity detection unit 1301 is input to the object position detection unit 1302 . The object position detection unit 1302 calculates an object position z(x, y) indicating the position of the object 1003 in the z-axis direction using the two-dimensional position (x, y) as an argument. Specifically, as shown in Equation (1), it is calculated as the position in the z-axis direction that maximizes the arbitrary position reflection intensity _parb (x, y, z) at each point of the two-dimensional position (x, y). be.

[Step A6]
The arbitrary position reflection intensity _parb (x, y, z) detected by the arbitrary position reflection intensity detection unit 1301 is input to the object reflection intensity detection unit 1303 . Based on the arbitrary position reflection intensity _parb (x, y, z), the object reflection intensity detection unit 1303 detects the object 1003 at the object position z(x, y) using the two-dimensional position (x, y) as an argument. , the object reflection intensity p _obj (x, y) is detected. Specifically, the object reflection intensity p _obj (x, y) is the arbitrary position reflection intensity p _arb ( x,y,z).

[Step A7]
Next, the operation of the intensity correction amount calculator 1304 will be described.

The object reflection intensity p _obj (x, y) detected in step A6 depends on the reflectance, which is a material-specific value of the object 1003 present at the position z(x, y). Furthermore, the object reflection intensity p _obj (x, y) depends not only on the reflectance of the object 1003 but also on the object position z(x, y) of the object 1003 .

More specifically, as shown in Equation (3), the measured object reflection intensity p _obj (x, y) is only the reflectance of the object 1003 at the object position z(x, y). and the _object reflection intensity p _loc (x, y).

5 and 6 are conceptual diagrams explaining why the object reflection intensity p _obj (x, y) also depends on the object position z(x, y) of the object 1003. FIG.

In FIGS. 5 and 6, a radio wave 1002 emitted from a transmitting antenna 1202 is reflected as a radio wave 1004 at a

reflection point

1401a or 1401b on an object 1003. FIG. The reflection direction of the radio wave 1004 is determined so that the angle of incidence and the angle of reflection are the same with respect to the tangential plane 1402 of the object 1003 at the

reflection point

1401a or 1401b.

As shown in FIG. 5, when the receiving antenna 1203 exists in the traveling direction of the radio wave 1004 reflected by the reflection point 1401a, the object reflection intensity p _obj (x,y ) is enhanced. On the other hand, if the receiving antenna 1203 does not exist in the traveling direction of the radio wave 1004 reflected by the reflection point 1401b as shown in FIG. 6, the radio wave 1004 cannot be received. The object reflection intensity p _obj (x,y) at decreases. As described above, irrespective of the reflectance determined by the material of the object 1003, depending on the shape (position distribution) of the object 1003, there are reflection points 1401a that can receive the radio wave 1004 and reflection points 1401b that cannot receive the radio wave 1004. The intensity p _obj (x, y) depends not only on the reflectance of the object 1003 but also on the shape of the object 1003, that is, the object position z(x, y).

An intensity correction amount calculation unit 1304 calculates an object reflection intensity component p _loc (x, y) that depends only on the object position z(x, y) of the object 1003, and outputs it as an intensity correction amount.

Specifically, the intensity correction amount calculation unit 1304 receives as input the position distribution z(x, y) of the object 1003 detected by the object position detection unit 1302 in step A5, and the object is the object position z(x , y) and the reflectance of the object does not depend on the position. Furthermore, the object reflection intensity p _loc (x, y) calculated from the calculated arbitrary position reflection intensity through the same procedure as the formulas (1) and (2) is output as an intensity correction amount.

[Step A8]
A corrected reflection intensity calculation unit 1305 calculates the object reflection intensity p _obj (x, y) output from the object reflection intensity detection unit 1303 and the intensity correction amount p _loc (x, y) is input, the object reflection intensity p _mat (x, y) determined only by the reflectance is calculated by the following equation (4) and output as the corrected reflection intensity.

Since the corrected reflection intensity p _mat (x, y) depends only on the reflectance, which is a material-specific value, the material-specific characteristics of the object 1003 can be correctly estimated from the corrected reflection intensity p _mat (x, y). .

On the other hand, when directly estimating material-specific characteristics such as reflectance from the object reflection intensity p _obj (x, y) before correction, the object reflection intensity component p _loc (x,y) causes errors in material-specific property estimates. By removing the object reflection intensity component p _loc (x, y) that depends on the position distribution z(x, y) of the object 1003 in the processing of equation (4), the error in the estimated value of the material-specific property is also removed. can.

[Step A9]
A feature amount calculation unit 1306 calculates a material-specific feature amount based on the corrected reflection intensity p _mat (x, y) output from the correction reflection intensity calculation unit 1305 . Specific examples of the feature amount include (1) the corrected reflection intensity p _mat (x, y) itself, (2) the reflectance of the object 1003, (3) the dielectric constant of the object, or (4) the corrected reflection An amount (value) calculated by a function using any one of the intensity, the reflectance of the object 1003, and the dielectric constant of the object as an argument can be used. The reflectance of the object 1003 can be calculated from the corrected reflected intensity p _mat (x,y) output from the corrected reflected intensity calculator 1305 . Also, the dielectric constant can be calculated from the reflectance of the object 1003 using the relational expression between the reflectance and the dielectric constant described in Non-Patent Document 1.

[Step A10]
The object detection/identification unit 1307 detects or identifies the object 1003 based on the feature amount output from the feature amount calculation unit 1306 and outputs the detection result or identification result of the object 1003 . The object detection/identification unit 1307 outputs, for example, the corrected reflection intensity, the feature amount, or the detection result or the identification result of the object. As an example of the detection method of the object 1003, the object 1003 may be detected from the change in the background of the feature amount peculiar to the material such as reflectance or dielectric constant. As an example of identification of the target object 1003, the type of material may be identified by collating the measured value of the characteristic amount of the material, such as reflectance or dielectric constant, with a database.

[program]
Here, a computer (arithmetic device) that implements the object detection device 1000 by executing the program in the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an example of a computer that implements the object detection device 1000 according to the first embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 7, the computer 110 includes a CPU 111, a main memory 112, a storage device 113, an input interface 114, a display controller 115, a data reader/writer 116, and a communication interface 117. These units are connected to each other via a bus 121 so as to be able to communicate with each other.

The CPU 111 expands the programs (codes) in the first embodiment stored in the storage device 113 into the main memory 112 and executes them in a predetermined order to perform various calculations. The main memory 112 is typically a volatile storage device such as DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory). Also, the program in the first embodiment is provided in a state stored in computer-readable recording medium 120 . Note that the program in the first embodiment may be distributed on the Internet connected via communication interface 117 .

Further, as a specific example of the storage device 113, in addition to a hard disk drive, a semiconductor storage device such as a flash memory can be cited. Input interface 114 mediates data transmission between CPU 111 and input devices 118 such as a keyboard and mouse. The display controller 115 is connected to the display device 119 and controls display on the display device 119 . Note that the computer 110 may include a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) or an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array) in addition to the CPU 111 or instead of the CPU 111 .

Further, the display device 119 displays the result detected or calculated by the arithmetic device 1211 , that is, the arbitrary position reflection intensity _parb (x, y, z) detected by the arbitrary position reflection intensity detection unit 1301 , or the object position detection unit 1302 . position distribution z(x, y) detected in , object reflection intensity p _obj (x, y) detected by object reflection intensity detection unit 1303, or intensity correction calculated by intensity correction amount calculation unit 1304 Quantity p _loc (x, y), corrected reflected intensity p _mat (x, y) calculated in corrected reflected intensity calculation unit 1305, feature amount calculated in feature amount calculation unit 1306, or object detection/identification The detection result or identification result of the object 1003 obtained in the unit 1307 may be displayed as an output.

The data reader/writer 116 mediates data transmission between the CPU 111 and the recording medium 120, reads programs from the recording medium 120, and writes processing results in the computer 110 to the recording medium 120. Communication interface 117 mediates data transmission between CPU 111 and other computers.

Specific examples of the recording medium 120 include general-purpose semiconductor storage devices such as CF (Compact Flash (registered trademark)) and SD (Secure Digital), magnetic recording media such as flexible disks, and CD- Optical recording media such as ROM (Compact Disk Read Only Memory) can be mentioned.

It should be noted that the object detection device in Embodiment 1 can also be realized by using hardware corresponding to each part instead of a computer in which a program is installed. Furthermore, the object detection device may be partly implemented by a program and the rest by hardware.

[effect]
The effects of the first embodiment are summarized below.

According to the object detection apparatus 1000 and the object detection method according to the first embodiment, the object reflection intensity p _obj (x,y) of the object 1003 is detected by the object reflection intensity detection unit 1303 . Further, an intensity correction amount calculation unit 1304 calculates an object reflection intensity component that depends only on the object position z(x, y) of the object 1003 as an intensity correction amount p _loc (x, y). A corrected reflection intensity calculator 1305 corrects the object reflection intensity p _obj (x, y) with the intensity correction amount p _loc (x, y) to calculate the corrected reflection intensity p _mat (x, y). Since the corrected reflection intensity p _mat (x, y) depends only on the reflectance, which is a value peculiar to the material of the object 1003, the feature amount calculation unit 1306 calculates an arbitrary shape from the corrected reflection intensity p _mat (x, y). It can calculate material-specific properties of objects (reflectance, permittivity, etc.).

According to the object detection device 1000 and the object detection method according to the first embodiment, since the characteristic inherent to the material is calculated using the reflected wave on the surface of the object, unlike Patent Document 1, the radio waves in the dielectric (object) Even when the amount of transmission is small, there is an effect that the characteristics unique to the material of the object can be calculated.

Further, according to the object detection device 1000 and the object detection method according to the first embodiment, the material-specific characteristics of an arbitrary-shaped object can be calculated only by a radar device that uses radio waves without using a camera. It is effective to solve the problem of measurement error due to synchronization deviation between radar and camera in

The configuration of the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above. However, the contents disclosed in each of the above patent documents can also be incorporated into the present invention by citation. Within the framework of the full disclosure of the present invention (including the scope of claims), modifications and adjustments of the embodiments are possible based on the basic technical concept thereof. Also, various combinations or selections of the various disclosed elements are possible within the scope of the claims of the present invention. That is, the present invention naturally includes various variations and modifications that can be made by those skilled in the art according to the entire disclosure including the scope of claims and technical ideas.

Some or all of the above embodiments can also be described as the following additional remarks, but are not limited to the following.
1. a transmitting means having a plurality of transmitting antennas for irradiating radio waves toward an object;
a receiving means comprising a plurality of receiving antennas for receiving the radio waves reflected from the object, and further for generating intermediate frequency signals from the signals received by the receiving antennas;
arbitrary position reflection intensity detection means for detecting an arbitrary position reflection intensity, which is the reflection intensity of the radio wave at an arbitrary position, from the intermediate frequency signal;
an object position detection means for detecting an object position, which is the position of the object, from the arbitrary position reflection intensity detected by the arbitrary position reflection intensity detection means;
object reflection intensity detection means for detecting an object reflection intensity, which is the reflection intensity at the object position, from the arbitrary position reflection intensity detected by the arbitrary position reflection intensity detection means;
intensity correction amount calculation means for calculating a correction amount of reflection intensity based on the object position detected by the object position detection means;
corrected reflection intensity calculation means for calculating a correction reflection intensity based on the object reflection intensity detected by the object reflection intensity detection means and the correction amount calculated by the intensity correction amount calculation means;
An object detection device characterized by comprising:
2. 2. The object detection apparatus according to 1, further comprising a feature quantity calculating means for calculating a feature quantity peculiar to the material of the object from the corrected reflection intensity.
3. 3. The object detection apparatus according to 2, further comprising object detection/identification means for detecting or identifying the object using the feature amount.
4. 4. The object detection apparatus according to 3, wherein the object detection/identification means outputs the corrected reflection intensity, the feature value, or the detection result or identification result of the object.
5. The feature amount is obtained from any one of the corrected reflection intensity, the reflectance calculated from the corrected reflection intensity, the dielectric constant calculated from the reflectance, or the corrected reflection intensity, the reflectance and the dielectric constant. 5. The object detection device according to any one of 2 to 4, characterized by being a quantity.
6. An object detection method for detecting an object by radio waves,
a step of irradiating a radio wave toward the object from a transmitting means having a plurality of transmitting antennas;
a step of receiving the radio waves reflected from the object by a receiving means having a plurality of receiving antennas, and further generating an intermediate frequency signal from the received signals received by the receiving antennas;
a step of detecting the reflection intensity at an arbitrary position (arbitrary position reflection intensity) of the radio wave from the intermediate frequency signal by an arbitrary position reflection intensity detection means;
a step of detecting the position of the object (object position) from the arbitrary position reflection intensity detected by the arbitrary position reflection intensity detection means, with the object position detection means;
a step of detecting a reflection intensity (object reflection intensity) at the position of the object from the arbitrary position reflection intensity detected by the arbitrary position reflection intensity detection means, with the object reflection intensity detection means;
a step of calculating a correction amount of the reflection intensity based on the object position detected by the object position detection means, using an intensity correction amount calculation means;
a step of calculating a corrected reflection intensity by a corrected reflection intensity calculation means based on the object reflection intensity detected by the object reflection intensity detection means and the correction amount calculated by the intensity correction amount calculation means; ,
An object detection method characterized by comprising:
7. 7. The object detection method according to 6, further comprising a step of calculating a feature amount specific to the material of the object from the corrected reflection intensity by a feature amount calculation means.
8. 8. The object detection method according to 7, further comprising a step of detecting or identifying the object using the feature amount by the object detection/identification means.
9. a transmitting means having a plurality of transmitting antennas for irradiating radio waves toward an object;
a receiving means comprising a plurality of receiving antennas for receiving the radio waves reflected from the object, and further for generating intermediate frequency signals from the signals received by the receiving antennas;
In an object detection device comprising a processor,
a step of detecting the reflection intensity at an arbitrary position (arbitrary position reflection intensity) of the radio wave from the intermediate frequency signal by an arbitrary position reflection intensity detection means;
a step of detecting the position of the object (object position) from the arbitrary position reflection intensity detected by the arbitrary position reflection intensity detection means, with the object position detection means;
a step of detecting a reflection intensity (object reflection intensity) at the position of the object from the arbitrary position reflection intensity detected by the arbitrary position reflection intensity detection means, with the object reflection intensity detection means;
a step of calculating a correction amount of the reflection intensity based on the object position detected by the object position detection means, using an intensity correction amount calculation means;
a step of calculating a corrected reflection intensity by a corrected reflection intensity calculation means based on the object reflection intensity detected by the object reflection intensity detection means and the correction amount calculated by the intensity correction amount calculation means; ,
program to run.
10. 10. The program according to 9, wherein in the object detection device, the feature quantity calculation means further executes a step of calculating a feature quantity peculiar to the material of the object from the corrected reflection intensity.
11. 11. The program according to 10, further causing the object detection/identification means in the object detection device to detect or identify the object using the feature amount.

110 computer 111 CPU
112 main memory 113 storage device 114 input interface 115 display controller 116 data reader/writer 117 communication interface 118 input device 119 display device 120 recording medium 121 bus 1000 object detection device 1001 transmission/reception device 1002 radio wave (transmission signal)
1003 object (object to be detected)
1004 radio wave (received signal)
1101 transmitter 1102 receiver 1201 oscillator 1202 transmitter antenna 1203 receiver antenna 1204 mixer 1205 interface circuit 1208 terminal 1211 arithmetic device 1301 arbitrary position reflection intensity detector 1302 object position detector 1303 object reflection intensity detector 1304 intensity correction amount calculator 1305 corrected reflection intensity calculation unit 1306 feature amount calculation unit 1307 object detection/identification unit 1401a reflection point 1401b reflection point 1402 tangent plane

Claims

a transmitting means having a plurality of transmitting antennas for irradiating radio waves toward an object;
a receiving means comprising a plurality of receiving antennas for receiving the radio waves reflected from the object, and further for generating intermediate frequency signals from the signals received by the receiving antennas;
arbitrary position reflection intensity detection means for detecting an arbitrary position reflection intensity, which is the reflection intensity of the radio wave at an arbitrary position, from the intermediate frequency signal;
an object position detection means for detecting an object position, which is the position of the object, from the arbitrary position reflection intensity detected by the arbitrary position reflection intensity detection means;
object reflection intensity detection means for detecting an object reflection intensity, which is the reflection intensity at the object position, from the arbitrary position reflection intensity detected by the arbitrary position reflection intensity detection means;
intensity correction amount calculation means for calculating a correction amount of reflection intensity based on the object position detected by the object position detection means;
corrected reflection intensity calculation means for calculating a correction reflection intensity based on the object reflection intensity detected by the object reflection intensity detection means and the correction amount calculated by the intensity correction amount calculation means;
An object detection device characterized by comprising:
3. The object detection apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a feature quantity calculation means for calculating a feature quantity peculiar to the material of the object from the corrected reflection intensity.
The object detection apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising object detection/identification means for detecting or identifying the object using the feature amount.
The object detection device according to claim 3, wherein the object detection/identification means outputs the corrected reflection intensity, the feature amount, or the detection result or identification result of the object.
The feature amount is obtained from any one of the corrected reflection intensity, the reflectance calculated from the corrected reflection intensity, the dielectric constant calculated from the reflectance, or the corrected reflection intensity, the reflectance and the dielectric constant. 5. The object detection device according to any one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that it is a quantity.
An object detection method for detecting an object by radio waves,
a step of irradiating a radio wave toward the object from a transmitting means having a plurality of transmitting antennas;
a step of receiving the radio waves reflected from the object by a receiving means having a plurality of receiving antennas, and further generating an intermediate frequency signal from the received signals received by the receiving antennas;
a step of detecting the reflection intensity at an arbitrary position (arbitrary position reflection intensity) of the radio wave from the intermediate frequency signal by an arbitrary position reflection intensity detection means;
a step of detecting the position of the object (object position) from the arbitrary position reflection intensity detected by the arbitrary position reflection intensity detection means, with the object position detection means;
a step of detecting a reflection intensity (object reflection intensity) at the position of the object from the arbitrary position reflection intensity detected by the arbitrary position reflection intensity detection means, with the object reflection intensity detection means;
a step of calculating a correction amount of the reflection intensity based on the object position detected by the object position detection means, using an intensity correction amount calculation means;
a step of calculating a corrected reflection intensity by a corrected reflection intensity calculation means based on the object reflection intensity detected by the object reflection intensity detection means and the correction amount calculated by the intensity correction amount calculation means; ,
An object detection method characterized by comprising:
7. The object detection method according to claim 6, further comprising a step of calculating a feature amount specific to the material of the object from the corrected reflection intensity by the feature amount calculation means.
8. The object detection method according to claim 7, further comprising a step of detecting or identifying the object using the feature amount by the object detection/identification means.
a transmitting means having a plurality of transmitting antennas for irradiating radio waves toward an object;
a receiving means comprising a plurality of receiving antennas for receiving the radio waves reflected from the object, and further for generating intermediate frequency signals from the signals received by the receiving antennas;
In an object detection device comprising a processor,
a step of detecting the reflection intensity at an arbitrary position (arbitrary position reflection intensity) of the radio wave from the intermediate frequency signal by an arbitrary position reflection intensity detection means;
a step of detecting the position of the object (object position) from the arbitrary position reflection intensity detected by the arbitrary position reflection intensity detection means, with the object position detection means;
a step of detecting a reflection intensity (object reflection intensity) at the position of the object from the arbitrary position reflection intensity detected by the arbitrary position reflection intensity detection means, with the object reflection intensity detection means;
a step of calculating a correction amount of the reflection intensity based on the object position detected by the object position detection means, using an intensity correction amount calculation means;
a step of calculating a corrected reflection intensity by a corrected reflection intensity calculation means based on the object reflection intensity detected by the object reflection intensity detection means and the correction amount calculated by the intensity correction amount calculation means; ,
program to run.
The program according to claim 9, wherein in the object detection device, the feature quantity calculation means further executes a step of calculating a feature quantity peculiar to the material of the object from the corrected reflection intensity.
The program according to claim 10, wherein the object detection/identification means in the object detection device further executes a step of detecting or identifying the object using the feature amount.