CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority from Korean Patent Application No. 10-2018-0120199, filed on Oct. 10, 2018, which is hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present disclosure relates to an apparatus and a method for complementing automotive radar, which complement the operation of automotive radar using a camera.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Recently, various devices for assisting a driver in driving a vehicle or for autonomous driving have been commercialized or developed. With this trend, radar provided in a vehicle is used for sensing objects around the vehicle and providing information, thereby assisting in the driving of the vehicle.

When foreign matter or objects exists close to the automotive radar, a transmission antenna or a reception antenna of the radar may be blocked. The blockage of the radar may cause deterioration of the operation of the automotive radar or malfunction of the automotive radar. In addition, if the radar is misaligned, the automotive radar may not operate properly. As a result, the accuracy and reliability of the radar may be degraded.

Therefore, there is growing need for a technique for quickly detecting malfunction such as blockage or misalignment of the radar.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the foregoing background, an aspect of the present disclosure is to provide an apparatus and a method for complementing automotive radar, which can more quickly and accurately detect whether or not radar is blocked using error information calculated by comparing target information based on an image obtained by a camera with target information based on a radar signal.

Another aspect of the present disclosure is to provide an apparatus and a method for complementing automotive radar, which can more quickly and accurately detect whether or not the radar is misaligned using error information calculated by comparing target information based on an image obtained by a camera with target information based on a radar signal.

According to one aspect, the present disclosure provides an apparatus for complementing automotive radar, which includes: an image sensor operable to be disposed in a vehicle so as to have a field of view of the exterior of the vehicle, the image sensor configured to capture image data; a radar sensor operable to be disposed in the vehicle so as to have a field of sensing for the exterior of the vehicle, the radar sensor configured to capture sensing data; at least one processor configured to process the image data captured by the image sensor and the sensing data captured by the radar sensor; and a controller configured to detect a malfunction of the radar sensor, based at least in part on the processing of the image data and the sensing data, wherein the controller is configured to: obtain first information on a target from an image obtained based on the processing of the image data; set a monitoring range of the radar sensor according to the obtained first information; obtain second information on the target based on a radar signal detected in the monitoring range; and detect malfunction of the radar sensor by determining whether or not the first information matches the second information.

According to another aspect, the present disclosure provides an apparatus for complementing automotive radar, which includes: an image sensor operable to be disposed in a vehicle so as to have a field of view of the exterior of the vehicle, the image sensor configured to capture image data; a radar sensor operable to be disposed in the vehicle so as to have a field of sensing for the exterior of the vehicle, the radar sensor configured to capture sensing data; and a domain control unit configured to process the image data captured by the image sensor and the sensing data captured by the radar sensor, and configured to control at least one driver assistance system provided in the vehicle, wherein the domain control unit is configured to: based at least in part on the processing of the image data and the sensing data, obtain first information on a target from an image obtained based on the processing of the image data; set a monitoring range of the radar sensor according to the obtained first information; obtain second information on the target based on a radar signal detected in the monitoring range; and detect malfunction of the radar sensor by determining whether or not the first information matches the second information.

According to another aspect, the present disclosure provides an image sensor operable to be disposed in the vehicle so as to have a field of view of the exterior of the vehicle, the image sensor configured to capture image data, wherein the image data is processed by a processor and is used to obtain first information on a target and is used to set a monitoring range of a radar sensor according to the obtained first information, and wherein monitoring range information is used to obtain second information on the target based on a radar signal detected in the monitoring range and is used to detect malfunction of the radar sensor by determining whether or not the first information matches the second information.

According to another aspect, the present disclosure provides a method for complementing automotive radar, which includes: obtaining an image of a field of view through a camera to obtain first information on a target; setting a monitoring range of a radar sensor according to the first information; obtaining second information on the target based on a radar signal detected in the monitoring range; and detecting malfunction of the radar sensor by determining whether or not the first information matches the second information.

As described above, according to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide an apparatus and a method for complementing automotive radar, which can more quickly and accurately detect whether or not the radar is blocked using error information calculated by comparing target information based on an image obtained by a camera with target information based on a radar signal.

In addition, according to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide an apparatus and a method for complementing automotive radar, which can more quickly and accurately detect whether or not the radar is misaligned using error information calculated by comparing target information based on an image obtained by a camera with target information based on a radar signal.

