RADAR SENSOR FOR DETECTION OF DRIVER’S DROWSINESS THAT OPERATES IN THE MILLIMETER WAVE FREQUENCY RANGE AND OPERATIONAL METHOD THEREOF

摘要

Invention herewith described refers to the radar sensor for detection of driver’s drowsiness that operates in the millimeter wave frequency range and operational method thereof. The radar is intended for vehicles. The key components of the system are the use of the integrated radar, the use of high gain planar antennas with the specific radiation pattern, the analysis of at least two driver’s key biometric parameters at the same time: the heart rate and the respiratory dynamics. The operational method calculates the probability of the driver’s drowsiness. In the case that the probability is above the predetermined threshold, there is initiated the interaction with the vehicle control system, typically by using the standard car interfaces. In this case there are performed the predetermined actions. These actions can be one of, or a combination of the following actions: tightening of the driver’s safety belt, audio signals alerting the driver, vibrating signals alerting the driver, change of the cabin lighting, change of the engine operating parameters, the corresponding wireless communication with the outside world that can be realized in different ways. Optionally the system can utilize the additional information such as data from the acceleration sensor. It is recommended that the system uses 60 GHz or 77-79 GHz integrated radar front end in the Doppler operating mode with a transmitting and receiving antenna consisting of 4x4 elements of physical dimensions typically 4x2x1 cm or less.