In today's world, drivers expect their vehicles to offer unparalleled performance from the Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), and radar technology is at the forefront of delivering this promise. Unlike cameras or LiDAR, radar excels in all weather conditions, providing robust and reliable results.
Accurate perception is the key to navigating obstacles on the road. High-resolution sensing is essential, and radar stands out as a cost-effective and dependable solution, even in challenging conditions such as fog, darkness and rain. Thanks to the advancements in semiconductor technology and software algorithms, the latest generation of high-resolution radar sensors offer remarkable performance enhancements.
However, the size of a radar system is directly related to its performance. Larger radars have larger apertures resulting in higher resolution. This poses a challenge in modern automotive applications where space is at a premium due to mounting constraints and digital components. Imagine a conventional Long-range radar with thousands of virtual channels, which theoretically can offer high-resolution sensing capabilities, but with a large physical footprint. In addition to mounting constraints, integrating this many channels increases power consumption and costs.
Enter Distributed Aperture Radar (DAR), a game-changer in the world of radar technology. DAR uses multiple small radar sensors that work together as a coherent system, forming a large virtual aperture. DAR's coherent sensor fusion removes hardware constraints on aperture size, achieving excellent angular resolution with significantly lower power consumption than a single large sensor containing thousands of antennas.
DAR's large virtual aperture enhances azimuth resolution by 0.5 degrees or lower. This precision keeps close objects separate which is crucial for long-distance sensing, especially at high speeds.
DAR has the potential to accelerate ADAS development and make autonomous driving more accessible. Its simple, efficient and cost-effective hardware offers OEMs the ability to scale ADAS functionality across a diverse range of vehicles.
Explore how to unleash ADAS performance with Distributed Aperture Radar (DAR).
NXP and Zendar are at the forefront of DAR technology, enhancing high-resolution radar systems for automotive applications. Leveraging NXP's widely adopted S32R radar processor platform and RFCMOS SAF8xxx one-chip SoCs, they cater to the diverse architectures of car OEMs. Zendar's DAR software is designed to run on radar processors like NXP’s S32R-based PurpleBox reference design, delivering a scalable and efficient solution for distributed radar systems.
See DAR in action. Watch the live driving demo presented at NXP Automotive Tech Days in Detroit.
DAR equips automotive companies to develop solutions that enhance safety and provide a more enjoyable driving experiences. DAR is rapidly maturing, thanks to its dependence on mainstream radar sensors. As it grows, DAR will gain market trust, demonstrating how it can offer comfortable assisted driving experiences at lower costs for both manufacturers and consumers.
Karthik Ramesh is responsible for ADAS system solutions, essential for next-generation ADAS and automated driving. He is passionate about technology and has more than 16 years of automotive industry experience having worked for NXP and Bosch.