US 12,222,418 B2
Automotive radar for mapping and localization
Stefan Andreas Brisken, Munich (DE)
Assigned to GM Cruise Holdings LLC, San Francisco, CA (US)
Filed by GM Cruise Holdings LLC, San Francisco, CA (US)
Filed on Nov. 5, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/520,581.
Claims priority of application No. 21206687 (EP), filed on Nov. 5, 2021.
Prior Publication US 2023/0145703 A1, May 11, 2023
Int. Cl. G01S 13/90 (2006.01); G01S 13/58 (2006.01); G01S 13/931 (2020.01)
CPC G01S 13/90 (2013.01) [G01S 13/58 (2013.01); G01S 13/931 (2013.01); G01S 2013/932 (2020.01); G01S 2013/93274 (2020.01)] 11 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A vehicle comprising:
a radar antenna array configured to receive radar returns from a driving environment of the vehicle, wherein the radar antenna array has a field-of-view (FOV) pointed in a direction that is offset at an angle from a direction of travel of the vehicle, wherein the radar antenna array includes a first radar antenna;
a second radar antenna that is not included in the radar antenna array, wherein the second radar antenna is horizontally offset from the first antenna; and
a hardware logic component configured to receive radar data that is indicative of the radar returns received by the radar antenna array over a period of time and generate a three-dimensional point cloud based upon the radar data through use of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) techniques, wherein use of the SAR techniques comprises:
computing, based upon the radar data and a velocity of the vehicle during the period of time, a position of a point on a surface of an object in the driving environment; and
updating a three-dimensional map of the driving environment based upon the computed position such that the three-dimensional map indicates that an object is present at the computed position;
computing, based upon the radar data and the velocity of the vehicle during the period of time, a position of a second point in the driving environment;
computing, based upon a portion of the radar data representative of a radar return received by the first radar antenna and second radar data that is indicative of a radar return received by the second radar antenna, a position of a third point in the driving environment;
determining that the second point and the third point are representative of a moving object in the driving environment; and
responsive to determining that the second point and the third point are representative of the moving object, failing to include the second point and the third point in the three-dimensional map of the driving environment.