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SonyGranted patentCars & transportInterest 6/10

Sony patents radar that shares raw and processed data with outside chips

Patent drawing
Patent drawing from the official filing.

Sony describes a radar system that outputs three different types of data: raw signal measurements, a 3D map of objects (point cloud), and a final list of detected items. The design allows an external computer to access the raw data directly without waiting for the radar to finish its internal calculations.

Why it mattersThis setup could help car safety systems or other sensors process data in custom ways that the built-in radar chip might not support.

In the filing’s own words

A radar device that facilitates external processing device data usage is disclosed. In one example, raw data immediately after a reception signal from a reception antenna is sampled at a predetermined period and subjected to A/D conversion and is output in a first output data format. Point cloud data generated by executing a predetermined signal process on the raw data is output in a second output data format, and data of an object recognition result obtained by executing an object recognition process on the point cloud data is output in a third output data format. In one example, the raw data is output in the first output data format and/or the point cloud data is output in the second output data format.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. A radar device comprising: reception circuitry configured to receive a reception signal from a reception antenna, sample the reception signal for predetermined periods to provide a sampled signal, and subject the sampled signal to analog-to-digital (A/D) conversion for outputting data in a first output data format that includes raw data of the reception signal, wherein the data in the first output data format is provided to an output configured for access by an external processing device, and is independently accessible for use by the external processing device without requiring generation of point cloud data; transform circuitry configured to receive the data in the first output data format from the reception circuitry, to generate point cloud data from the raw data, and to output data in a second output data format; and object recognition circuitry configured to receive the output of the transform circuitry in the second output data format, perform object recognition on the point cloud data, and to output data in a third output data format based upon the object recognition performed on the point cloud data.

Facts

Company
Sony (Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation)
Official title
Radar device and data output method for radar device
Patent number
US12754305B2
Application number
18554187
Filed
Sep 27, 2022
Granted
Oct 6, 2026
Inventors
2
Claims
20

Classified under

G01S 13/34 Physics & computingG01S 13/426 Physics & computingG01S 13/86 Physics & computing

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Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.