INTELLIGENT ANTENNA METAMATERIAL METHOD AND APPARATUS
First Claim
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1. A sensor system, comprising:
- a dielectric layer having a plurality of metamaterial unit cells configured thereon as an array;
a plurality of varactors coupled to the plurality of metamaterial unit cells; and
an Intelligent Antenna Module (“
IAM”
), the IAM adapted to;
detect a target in a section of a field of view;
assign a subset of the plurality of metamaterial unit cells into a sub-array; and
adjust a subset of voltage controllers associated with the sub-array to cause the sub-array to transmit a signal having a bandwidth to focus on the target.
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Abstract
The present invention is a metamaterial-based object detection system. An intelligent antenna metamaterial interface (IAM) associates specific metamaterial unit cells into sub-arrays to adjust the beam width of a transmitted signal. The IAM is part of a sensor fusion system that coordinates a plurality of sensors, such as in a vehicle, to optimize performance. In one embodiment, an MTM antenna structure is probe-fed to create a standing wave across the unit cells.
1 Citation
20 Claims
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1. A sensor system, comprising:
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a dielectric layer having a plurality of metamaterial unit cells configured thereon as an array; a plurality of varactors coupled to the plurality of metamaterial unit cells; and an Intelligent Antenna Module (“
IAM”
), the IAM adapted to;detect a target in a section of a field of view; assign a subset of the plurality of metamaterial unit cells into a sub-array; and adjust a subset of voltage controllers associated with the sub-array to cause the sub-array to transmit a signal having a bandwidth to focus on the target. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A sensor fusion system, comprising:
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a plurality of sensors in a vehicle; a sensor fusion controller having an interface to receive signals from the plurality of sensors and implement a control action in response to the received signals; a metamaterial antenna structure coupled to the sensor fusion controller; and an IAM interface for communication between the sensor fusion controller and the metamaterial antenna structure, wherein the IAM interface controls subarrays of the metamaterial antenna structure.
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11. An antenna structure, comprising:
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a ground plane layer; a feed layer coupled to the ground plane layer; a first dielectric layer positioned proximate the ground layer and having a radiating structure; and a metamaterial layer positioned proximate the first dielectric layer, wherein the metamaterial layer comprises a t least one metamaterial unit cell. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification