“Millimeter-wave radar provides a highly accurate sensing method for automotive and industrial applications. It can provide insightful object information, such as distance, angle, and speed, so as to achieve a more intelligent sensing solution for detecting a few centimeters to several centimeters. Objects within 100 meters.
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Millimeter-wave radar provides a highly accurate sensing method for automotive and industrial applications. It can provide insightful object information, such as distance, angle, and speed, so as to achieve a more intelligent sensing solution for detecting a few centimeters to several centimeters. Objects within 100 meters.
Generally, radar sensors are mounted on a printed circuit board (PCB) composed of radar transceivers, antennas, power management circuits, memory, and interface peripherals. The antenna on the PCB needs to use a high-frequency substrate material, such as the silver material Rogers R03003 shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1: Radar sensor with antenna on PCB
Antenna in Package (AoP) technology eliminates the need for high-frequency substrate materials, and reduces costs, manufacturing complexity and approximately 30% of the board space. TI’s AoP technology uses flip-chip packaging technology to place the antenna on a plastic-free substrate to prevent loss of efficiency and stray radiation caused by the loss of the antenna when it passes through the plastic material. The use of multi-layer substrates can further reduce the size of the circuit board and make it easier to overlap the antenna and the silicon wafer.
The AWR1843AOP device directly integrates the antenna on the package substrate, as shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2: TI radar sensor with AoP technology
Using AoP technology can achieve the following advantages:
• Reduce the overall size.
• Reduce bill of materials costs.
• There is no need to design, simulate, and adjust antenna performance, thereby reducing engineering costs and accelerating time to market.
• Reduce power loss by shortening the wiring from the device to the antenna.
How AoP can improve external near-field sensing applications
Automakers tend to provide some automation features other than ADAS, such as automatic opening of doors and trunks. This feature requires a high-resolution sensor to detect different types of objects and avoid collisions when opening the door and trunk.
TI’s AWR1843AOP millimeter-wave radar sensor is used for near-field sensing applications and performs three-dimensional detection through a low-power single-chip solution that integrates AoP technology. This highly integrated sensor is small enough to be installed in spaces such as door handles, pedals, and B-pillars. In addition, the high range resolution of AWR1843AOP enables it to detect objects of any size, shape or structure.
Detect multiple static objects
AWR1843AOP operates in a bandwidth of 76GHz to 81GHz, and its range resolution is less than 4cm. By combining the characteristics of wide field of view and high range resolution, it can detect and distinguish multiple static objects at the same time. As shown in Figure 3, the AWR1843AOP evaluation kit is installed on a car door 43cm from the ground. The traffic cone is marked as a red cube in the graphical user interface because the car door will touch it when it is opened. The metal rod farther from the sensor is marked green because the door does not touch it when it is opened.
Figure 3: Detect the plastic cone in the collision zone and the metal rod outside the collision zone
Detect low-height objects
The door obstacle detection sensor requires a solution with three-dimensional vision capabilities to prevent collisions with objects below the sensor height. Other sensing technologies, such as time-of-flight and ultrasound, may not be able to detect objects far below or above the sensor height, and they cannot provide a reliable solution for detecting low-altitude objects (such as bollards and curbs). The camera-based solution can detect low-altitude objects, but it is not reliable under severe weather conditions such as rain and snow. The AWR1843AOP device can detect low-height objects on the azimuth and elevation planes. The millimeter-wave radar sensor is also suitable for severe weather conditions. Figure 4 shows the use of the AWR1843AOP evaluation module (EVM) to detect cinder blocks used as low-height curbs.
Figure 4: Using TI’s AWR1843AOP EVM
Detect low-height curbs
Detect objects with a small surface area
Objects such as bicycles and shopping carts are difficult to detect due to their shape and structure. But with high distance resolution and wide field of view characteristics, AWR1843AOP can detect objects with a small surface area, as shown in Figure 5.
Figure 5: Using AWR1843AOP EVM
Detect objects with a small surface area
Multi-model
The AWR1843AOP has a multi-mode programmable digital signal processor that allows you to reconfigure the same sensor for multiple applications. For example, you can use the AWR1843AOP device as an obstacle detection sensor (used for automatic opening doors) and a side-view radar sensor (used to detect objects in the blind spot area while the car is driving). Despite the implementation of multiple sensing applications, this multi-model feature can still reduce system costs. Figure 6 shows the use of the door obstacle detection sensor to detect a cyclist at a distance of 5m.
Figure 6: Using the door obstacle detection sensor
Detect cyclists at a distance of 5m
TI’s AoP technology supports flexible placement of sensors in new locations, such as door handles. The 77GHz AWR1843AOP sensor can speed up time to market and reduce system-level costs for applications such as door obstacle detection, trunk obstacle detection, basic blind spot detection, and parking assistance.
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