Patent ID: 12196841

Like reference symbols in the various drawings indicate like elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Advanced driver safety features have been gaining interest in the past few years. To increase transportation safety of vehicles, it is important to have an accurate idea of identifying objects that are proximate to and/or approaching a vehicle. This is particularly important for areas of the vehicle that are “blind spots” for the vehicle driver. This may include fields of view of the driver that are obstructed by the vehicle itself (traditionally labeled “blind spot”) and areas that are obstructed by external objects, such as other vehicles, buildings, etc. that are proximate to the ego vehicle

Referring toFIGS.1A-5, a vehicle100includes a blind spot monitoring system110that includes a computing device (or hardware processor)112(e.g., central processing unit having one or more computing processors) in communication with non-transitory memory or hardware memory114(e.g., a hard disk, flash memory, random-access memory) capable of storing instructions executable on the computing processor(s)112. The blind spot monitoring system110includes a sensor system120. The sensor system120includes one or more sensors122a-npositioned at one or more areas and configured to sense one or more objects102,102a-nin an area proximate to the vehicle. Objects102,102a-nmay include, but are not limited to, vehicles102a, traffic participants102b, such as pedestrians and bicyclists, buildings/infrastructure103b, natural objects, shrubbery, trees, etc. In addition to sensing actual objects102,102a-nthe sensors122,122a-nmay detect ghost objects as well. Ghost objects may be reflections that are sensed by the sensors122,122a-n. The blind spot monitoring system distinguishes the objects102,102a-nand the ghost objects104,104a-nfrom one another in the manner described herein.

In some implementations, sensors122may be short range radar sensors, which provide a broad field of view. The one or more sensors122a-nmay be positioned to capture data124associated with a specific area10, where each sensor122a-ncaptures data124associated with a portion of the area10. As a result, the sensor data124associated with each sensor122a-nincludes sensor data124associated with the entire area10. Alternatively, the sensors122may also include, but are not limited to, Sonar, LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging, which can entail optical remote sensing that measures properties of scattered light to find range and/or other information of a distant target), HFL (High Flash LIDAR), LADAR (Laser Detection and Ranging), cameras (e.g., monocular camera, binocular camera).

Each sensor122is positioned at a location where the sensor122can capture sensor data124associated with objects102,102a-n,104,104a-nwithin their field of view. Therefore, the sensor system120analyses the sensor data124captured by the one or more sensors122a-n. The analysis of the sensor data124includes the sensor system120identifying one or more objects102,102a-n,104,104a-nand determining whether it is an objects102,102a-nor a ghost object104,104a-n.

Based on general analysis, there are five types of multipath reflections are observed in a large amount of test data. InFIGS.3A-Eand4, R is radar, T is real target, G is ghost object, S is the stationary object which has high reflection index, like parked car, truck or metal guard rail, or reflective wall. Double line arrow means the radar signal passes twice and single line arrow means radar signal passes once.

InFIG.3A, the radar signal sends out from R, hits a stationary object S, and then reflected out and hit real target T, after that, the signal passes to S and then to R. The name of this figure is RSTSR and it stands for the path of the radar signal.

InFIG.3B, the radar signal sends out from R, hits a real target T, then hit a stationary object S, after that it goes back to radar with the same path. It is called RTSTR.

InFIG.3C, the radar signal R bounced twice between the real target T and the stationary object S. It is called RTSTSTR.

InFIG.3D, the signal is sent out from radar, reflected by the target T and then by the stationary object S and return to the radar R finally. It is called RTSR.

InFIG.3E, the signal is sent out from radar R, reflected by the stationary object S, then by the target T and return to radar. It is called RSTR.

InFIGS.3A and3B, we have:
y=z(1)
x, y and z stand for distances from radar, real object, ghost object and reflective stationary object.
InFIG.3C, we have:
y=0.5*z(2)
InFIG.3D, we have:
(x+z)*2=rt+y+x
x+z=rg
rtis the range of the real target. rgis the range of the ghost object. It can be converted to:
y=2r9−rt−x(3)
InFIG.3E, we have:
x+y+rs=2(x+z)
x+z=rg

We can conclude:
y=2rg−rs−x(4)
rsis the range of the stationary object.

These five cases are different, and these objects will never satisfy more than one condition. 0.5z cannot equal to z if z is not zero. For equation (3), we have:
x+y>rt
2x+2y>x+y+rt
2x+2y>2z+2x
y>z
We can get similar conclusion for equation (4). So there will be only one condition be satisfied. Therefore, we can summarize equation (1) to (4):

y={z0.5⁢z2⁢rg-rt-x2⁢rg-rs-x(5)

InFIG.3A-E, there are always three objects, one real object, one ghost object and a stationary object. Two of them and radar sensor are colinear. One of them are not on the line formed by other two objects with radar.

The five reflection cases can be generalized to be one situation as shown inFIG.4. R is the radar sensor, O1and O2are two objects, O3or O3′ or O3″ is the third object. We can always form a triangle having two edges with the same length. Two objects (O1and O2) are at two corners of the triangle. Length of edge O1O2equals that of edge O2O3. The remain object is on the edge O2O3, but the location could be O3, O3′ or O3″.

In detail, for reflection cases shown inFIG.3A, O1is the real target, O2is the stationary object and O3is the ghost object. For the case shown inFIG.3B, O1is the stationary target, O2is the real object and O3is the ghost object. For reflection case shown inFIG.3C, O1is the stationary object, O2is the real target. O3′ is the ghost object. O2is the middle point of O2O3and |O2O3| is 0.5|O2O3″|. For reflection case shown inFIG.3D, O3′ will be the ghost object, O1is the real object and O2is the stationary object. The length of O2O3edge of triangle O1O2O3will be 2rg−rt−x, which can be written as 2RO3′−RO1−RO2. For reflection case shown inFIG.3E, O1is the stationary object. O3′ is ghost object and O2is the real target. The length of O2O3of triangle O1O2O3will be 2rg−rs−x, which can be also written as 2RO3′−RO1−RO2. Then formula will be:

O1⁢O2=O2⁢O3={O2⁢O30.5⁢O2⁢O3″2⁢R⁢⁢O3′-R⁢⁢O1-R⁢⁢O2(6)

Based on equation (6), a generalized solution as shown inFIG.4is provided to identify ghost object. This solution could be easily implemented to identify ghost object generated from all cases shown inFIG.3A-E.

FIG.5provides an example arrangement of operations for a method500for detecting a ghost object104,104a-nusing the system110ofFIGS.1-4. At block502, the method500includes receiving, at a hardware processor112, sensor data124from one or more sensors122in communication with the hardware processor112and positioned such that the surrounding area10is within a field of view of the one or more sensors122. At block504, the method500includes detecting, at the hardware processor112, one or more objects102,102a-n,104,104a-nfrom the sensor data124. At block506, the method500includes identifying, at the hardware processor112, two dynamic objects and one stationary object from the one or more objects102,102a-n,104,104a-n.

Additionally, at block508, the method500includes verifying, at the hardware processor112, that two objects and radar are colinear by checking azimuth angle. Marking the closer one as O2. Marking the further one as Ox. Marking the object that is not colinear with others as O1.

At block510, the method500includes determining, at the hardware processor112, the distance from O1to O2; RO1and RO2, the range of O1and O2. Further, at block512, the method500includes determining, at the hardware processor112, RO3′, which is the range of object Ox. At block514, the method500includes determining, at the hardware processor112, the distance from O2to Oxand marking as O2O3and O2O3′.

At block516, the method500includes comparing, at the hardware processor112, whether O1O2=O2O3. Based on the comparison if O1O2is equal to O2O3a Confidence 1(C1) is obtained, at block518or C1is set to 0 if O1O2is not equal to O2O3, at block520.

At block522, the method500includes comparing, at the hardware processor112, whether O1O2=0.5O2O3′. Based on the comparison if O1O2is equal to 0.5O2O3′ a Confidence 2(C2) is obtained, at block524or C2is set to 0 if O1O2is not equal 0.5O2O3′, at block526.

At block528, the method500includes comparing, at the hardware processor112, whether O1O2=2RO3′−RO1−RO2. Based on the comparison if O1O2is equal to 2RO3′−RO1−RO2a Confidence 3 (C3) is obtained, at block530or C3is set to 0 if O1O2is not equal to 2RO3′−RO1−RO2, at block532.

After C1, C2, and C3are obtained, the method500includes comparing, at the hardware processor112, C1, C2, and C3to determine the highest confidence value among them then comparing the highest confidence to a pre-defined threshold, at block534. If the highest confidence value is greater than the predefined threshold, the method500includes finding the dynamic object with less RCS or lifetime among the two dynamic objects and increasing the corresponding ghost probability, at block536. If the highest confidence value is not greater than the predefined threshold, the method500includes finding the dynamic object with less RCS or lifetime among the two dynamic objects and decreasing the corresponding ghost probability, at block538.

Further, at block540, the method500includes comparing, at the hardware processor112, whether the ghost probability of the less confidence object is higher than a upper threshold, and marking it as ghost object or whether the ghost probability of the less confidence object is less than a lower threshold, setting its ghost probability to zero.

FIG.6is schematic view of an example computing device600that may be used to implement the systems and methods described in this document. The computing device600is intended to represent various forms of digital computers, such as laptops, desktops, workstations, personal digital assistants, servers, blade servers, mainframes, and other appropriate computers. The components shown here, their connections and relationships, and their functions, are meant to be exemplary only, and are not meant to limit implementations of the inventions described and/or claimed in this document.

The computing device600includes a processor610, memory620, a storage device630, a high-speed interface/controller640connecting to the memory620and high-speed expansion ports650, and a low speed interface/controller660connecting to low speed bus670and storage device630. Each of the components610,620,630,640,650, and660, are interconnected using various busses, and may be mounted on a common motherboard or in other manners as appropriate. The processor610can process instructions for execution within the computing device600, including instructions stored in the memory620or on the storage device630to display graphical information for a graphical user interface (GUI) on an external input/output device, such as display680coupled to high speed interface640. In other implementations, multiple processors and/or multiple buses may be used, as appropriate, along with multiple memories and types of memory. Also, multiple computing devices600may be connected, with each device providing portions of the necessary operations (e.g., as a server bank, a group of blade servers, or a multi-processor system).

The memory620stores information non-transitorily within the computing device600. The memory620may be a computer-readable medium, a volatile memory unit(s), or non-volatile memory unit(s). The non-transitory memory620may be physical devices used to store programs (e.g., sequences of instructions) or data (e.g., program state information) on a temporary or permanent basis for use by the computing device600. Examples of non-volatile memory include, but are not limited to, flash memory and read-only memory (ROM)/programmable read-only memory (PROM)/erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM)/electronically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM) (e.g., typically used for firmware, such as boot programs). Examples of volatile memory include, but are not limited to, random access memory (RAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), phase change memory (PCM) as well as disks or tapes.

The storage device630is capable of providing mass storage for the computing device600. In some implementations, the storage device630is a computer-readable medium. In various different implementations, the storage device630may be a floppy disk device, a hard disk device, an optical disk device, or a tape device, a flash memory or other similar solid state memory device, or an array of devices, including devices in a storage area network or other configurations. In additional implementations, a computer program product is tangibly embodied in an information carrier. The computer program product contains instructions that, when executed, perform one or more methods, such as those described above. The information carrier is a computer- or machine-readable medium, such as the memory620, the storage device630, or memory on processor610.

The high-speed controller640manages bandwidth-intensive operations for the computing device600, while the low speed controller660manages lower bandwidth-intensive operations. Such allocation of duties is exemplary only. In some implementations, the high-speed controller640is coupled to the memory620, the display680(e.g., through a graphics processor or accelerator), and to the high-speed expansion ports650, which may accept various expansion cards (not shown). In some implementations, the low-speed controller660is coupled to the storage device630and low-speed expansion port670. The low-speed expansion port670, which may include various communication ports (e.g., USB, Bluetooth, Ethernet, wireless Ethernet), may be coupled to one or more input/output devices, such as a keyboard, a pointing device, a scanner, or a networking device such as a switch or router, e.g., through a network adapter.

The computing device600may be implemented in a number of different forms, as shown in the figure. For example, it may be implemented as a standard server600aor multiple times in a group of such servers600a, as a laptop computer600b, or as part of a rack server system600c.

Various implementations of the systems and techniques described here can be realized in digital electronic and/or optical circuitry, integrated circuitry, specially designed ASICs (application specific integrated circuits), computer hardware, firmware, software, and/or combinations thereof. These various implementations can include implementation in one or more computer programs that are executable and/or interpretable on a programmable system including at least one programmable processor, which may be special or general purpose, coupled to receive data and instructions from, and to transmit data and instructions to, a storage system, at least one input device, and at least one output device.

These computer programs (also known as programs, software, software applications or code) include machine instructions for a programmable processor, and can be implemented in a high-level procedural and/or object-oriented programming language, and/or in assembly/machine language. As used herein, the terms “machine-readable medium” and “computer-readable medium” refer to any computer program product, non-transitory computer readable medium, apparatus and/or device (e.g., magnetic discs, optical disks, memory, Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs)) used to provide machine instructions and/or data to a programmable processor, including a machine-readable medium that receives machine instructions as a machine-readable signal. The term “machine-readable signal” refers to any signal used to provide machine instructions and/or data to a programmable processor.

Implementations of the subject matter and the functional operations described in this specification can be implemented in digital electronic circuitry, or in computer software, firmware, or hardware, including the structures disclosed in this specification and their structural equivalents, or in combinations of one or more of them. Moreover, subject matter described in this specification can be implemented as one or more computer program products, i.e., one or more modules of computer program instructions encoded on a computer readable medium for execution by, or to control the operation of, data processing apparatus. The computer readable medium can be a machine-readable storage device, a machine-readable storage substrate, a memory device, a composition of matter effecting a machine-readable propagated signal, or a combination of one or more of them. The terms “data processing apparatus”, “computing device” and “computing processor” encompass all apparatus, devices, and machines for processing data, including by way of example a programmable processor, a computer, or multiple processors or computers. The apparatus can include, in addition to hardware, code that creates an execution environment for the computer program in question, e.g., code that constitutes processor firmware, a protocol stack, a database management system, an operating system, or a combination of one or more of them. A propagated signal is an artificially generated signal, e.g., a machine-generated electrical, optical, or electromagnetic signal, that is generated to encode information for transmission to suitable receiver apparatus.

A computer program (also known as an application, program, software, software application, script, or code) can be written in any form of programming language, including compiled or interpreted languages, and it can be deployed in any form, including as a stand-alone program or as a module, component, subroutine, or other unit suitable for use in a computing environment. A computer program does not necessarily correspond to a file in a file system. A program can be stored in a portion of a file that holds other programs or data (e.g., one or more scripts stored in a markup language document), in a single file dedicated to the program in question, or in multiple coordinated files (e.g., files that store one or more modules, sub programs, or portions of code). A computer program can be deployed to be executed on one computer or on multiple computers that are located at one site or distributed across multiple sites and interconnected by a communication network.

The processes and logic flows described in this specification can be performed by one or more programmable processors executing one or more computer programs to perform functions by operating on input data and generating output. The processes and logic flows can also be performed by, and apparatus can also be implemented as, special purpose logic circuitry, e.g., an FPGA (field programmable gate array) or an ASIC (application specific integrated circuit).

Processors suitable for the execution of a computer program include, by way of example, both general and special purpose microprocessors, and any one or more processors of any kind of digital computer. Generally, a processor will receive instructions and data from a read only memory or a random access memory or both. The essential elements of a computer are a processor for performing instructions and one or more memory devices for storing instructions and data. Generally, a computer will also include, or be operatively coupled to receive data from or transfer data to, or both, one or more mass storage devices for storing data, e.g., magnetic, magneto optical disks, or optical disks. However, a computer need not have such devices. Moreover, a computer can be embedded in another device, e.g., a mobile telephone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile audio player, a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver, to name just a few. Computer readable media suitable for storing computer program instructions and data include all forms of non-volatile memory, media and memory devices, including by way of example semiconductor memory devices, e.g., EPROM, EEPROM, and flash memory devices; magnetic disks, e.g., internal hard disks or removable disks; magneto optical disks; and CD ROM and DVD-ROM disks. The processor and the memory can be supplemented by, or incorporated in, special purpose logic circuitry.

To provide for interaction with a user, one or more aspects of the disclosure can be implemented on a computer having a display device, e.g., a CRT (cathode ray tube), LCD (liquid crystal display) monitor, or touch screen for displaying information to the user and optionally a keyboard and a pointing device, e.g., a mouse or a trackball, by which the user can provide input to the computer. Other kinds of devices can be used to provide interaction with a user as well; for example, feedback provided to the user can be any form of sensory feedback, e.g., visual feedback, auditory feedback, or tactile feedback; and input from the user can be received in any form, including acoustic, speech, or tactile input. In addition, a computer can interact with a user by sending documents to and receiving documents from a device that is used by the user; for example, by sending web pages to a web browser on a user's client device in response to requests received from the web browser.

One or more aspects of the disclosure can be implemented in a computing system that includes a backend component, e.g., as a data server, or that includes a middleware component, e.g., an application server, or that includes a frontend component, e.g., a client computer having a graphical user interface or a Web browser through which a user can interact with an implementation of the subject matter described in this specification, or any combination of one or more such backend, middleware, or frontend components. The components of the system can be interconnected by any form or medium of digital data communication, e.g., a communication network. Examples of communication networks include a local area network (“LAN”) and a wide area network (“WAN”), an inter-network (e.g., the Internet), and peer-to-peer networks (e.g., ad hoc peer-to-peer networks).

The computing system can include clients and servers. A client and server are generally remote from each other and typically interact through a communication network. The relationship of client and server arises by virtue of computer programs running on the respective computers and having a client-server relationship to each other. In some implementations, a server transmits data (e.g., an HTML page) to a client device (e.g., for purposes of displaying data to and receiving user input from a user interacting with the client device). Data generated at the client device (e.g., a result of the user interaction) can be received from the client device at the server.

While this specification contains many specifics, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the disclosure or of what may be claimed, but rather as descriptions of features specific to particular implementations of the disclosure. Certain features that are described in this specification in the context of separate implementations can also be implemented in combination in a single implementation. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single implementation can also be implemented in multiple implementations separately or in any suitable sub-combination. Moreover, although features may be described above as acting in certain combinations and even initially claimed as such, one or more features from a claimed combination can in some cases be excised from the combination, and the claimed combination may be directed to a sub-combination or variation of a sub-combination.

Similarly, while operations are depicted in the drawings in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results. In certain circumstances, multi-tasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Moreover, the separation of various system components in the embodiments described above should not be understood as requiring such separation in all embodiments, and it should be understood that the described program components and systems can generally be integrated together in a single software product or packaged into multiple software products.

A number of implementations have been described. Nevertheless, it will be understood that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. Accordingly, other implementations are within the scope of the following claims. For example, the actions recited in the claims can be performed in a different order and still achieve desirable results.

The foregoing preferred embodiments have been shown and described for the purposes of illustrating the structural and functional principles of the present invention, as well as illustrating the methods of employing the preferred embodiments and are subject to change without departing from such principles. Therefore, this invention includes all modifications encompassed within the scope of the following claims.