Develop short-range radar with a reference design that enables object tracking for autonomous parking, lane change assist, blind spot detection, and collision avoidance.
The TIDEP-0092, reference design from Texas Instruments (TI) serves as a foundation for a short-range radar (SRR) application using the AWR1642 evaluation module (EVM). It enables users to estimate and track the position and velocity of objects within a range of up to 80 meters. A few applications of the design include Lane Change Assist (LCA), Autonomous Parking, Cross Traffic Alert (CTA), and Blind Spot Detection (BSD).
Autonomous vehicle control enhances both quality of life and safety by making driving easier and reducing risks. Quality-of-life features include self-parking, lane change assistance, and adaptive cruise control, which maintains a safe distance by tracking the speed of the vehicle ahead. Safety features like autonomous braking and collision avoidance help prevent accidents by detecting obstacles and alerting the driving system. These technologies rely on various sensors to track the position and velocity of objects in the environment.
The reference design is an introductory short-range radar application capable of detecting up to 200 objects within 80 meters (260 feet) and tracking up to 24 moving at speeds of up to 90 kph (55 mph). The sensor operates as a multi-mode radar, allowing it to track objects at 80 meters while simultaneously generating a detailed point cloud of objects within 20 meters, enabling the detection of both approaching vehicles and nearby small objects. This reference design serves as a foundation for developing standalone sensors for various SRR automotive applications. Extending the range beyond 80 meters is possible with a higher-gain antenna than the one included in the AWR1642.
This reference design includes two sets of specifications due to its multi-mode radar functionality. The short-range radar (SRR) operates with a range of 80 meters, while the ultra-short-range radar (USRR) has an effective range of 20 meters.
The AWR1642 is a single-chip, frequency-modulated continuous wave (FMCW) sensor operating in the 76 to 81 GHz band. Built with TI’s low-power 45-nm RFCMOS processor, it offers high analog and digital integration in a compact form. It features four receivers, two transmitters, and a closed-loop phase-locked loop (PLL) for precise chirp synthesis. The sensor includes a built-in radio processor (BIST) for RF calibration and safety monitoring. With a complex baseband architecture, it supports a 5 MHz IF bandwidth and reconfigurable output sampling rates.
The reference design utilizes four receivers and two transmitters in two different chirp configurations. In the first configuration, only one transmitter transmits in a non-MIMO setup. In the second configuration (USRR), a time-division multiplexed MIMO approach is used, where two transmitters transmit alternately within a frame. This MIMO setup creates an array of eight virtual receiver antennas, doubling the angle resolution compared to a single transmitter configuration.
TI has tested this reference design. It comes with a bill of materials (BOM), schematics, assembly drawing, printed circuit board (PCB) layout, and more. The company’s website has additional data about the reference design. To read more about this reference design, click here.
