Imaging radar development platform offers 2K resolution

Arbe, a developer of 4D imaging radar chipsets, has announced the rollout of a 2K resolution imaging radar development platform. This is targeted at tier 1s, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), and new mobility players to enhance their perception algorithms.

The company said it is currently collaborating with over 20 tier-1 and OEM customers in the United States, Europe, China, Korea and Japan that are developing their next-generation radar systems based on this new platform. It expects Arbe technology-based radars to be implemented in vehicles on the road as early as 2022.

According to Arbe, current radars on the market process 12 channels, and industry radars in development are promising 192 channels. His compares with Arbe’s chipset which currently processes 2304 (48×48) channels, providing 2K ultra-high resolution, far beyond what any other radar can provide. Imaging radar with higher resolutions such as this one, combined with object detection in all environment conditions can help prevent the causes of some ADAS related road accidents, as it is better at being able to identify and track vulnerable road users such as pedestrians, bicycles, scooters, and can detect stationary objects like a parked vehicle in a lane, or road construction on the highway. It also eliminates false alarms, that are common with current generation radars, so that ADAS and AV systems can finally trust the reading from the radar.

The CEO of Arbe, Kobi Marenko, said, “Until now, our solution demonstrated tremendous potential to the industry promising both the highest standards of safety for ADAS and unmatched levels of perception for autonomous vehicles. With the launch of our radar development platform, our solution is now a reality for the road – moving from a theory to an actuality that is being implemented by customers across the globe. Meeting this milestone puts Arbe ahead of the automotive radar industry.”

Additionally, the development platform for 4D imaging radar serves as a base for advanced perception capabilities including accurate real time inference of the vehicle’s ego-velocity and in lane localization. Post processing the radar data allows tracking and classifying objects in the entire field of view of the vehicle and determines their orientation and motion vector, as well as provides precise and accurate free space mapping to distinguish drivable from non-drivable environments in any weather or lighting condition.

Arbe’s imaging radar development platform includes the entire Arbe imaging radar chipset with RF transmitter and receiver chips of 2K channels (48 receiving by 48 transmitting channels). This includes the patented imaging radar processor capable of processing 30Gbps of radar data. The chipset provides ultra-high resolution and supports over 100,000 detections per frame.

Through enhanced FMCW (frequency-modulated continuous-wave) technology, Arbe’s chipset technology transmits and receives signals from multiple antennas. By converting information from time to frequency domains (FFT), Arbe said it provides a 4D image with unparalleled element density in high azimuth and elevation resolution while simultaneously sensing the environment in long range with a wide field of view in real time. The technology also reduces sidelobe occurrence levels close to zero, resolving range-doppler ambiguities and avoiding interference from other radars.

The company has developed its own proprietary mmWave automotive grade radar RFIC chipset that includes a transmitter chip with 24 output channels and a receiver chip with 12 input channels. Using the FDSOI CMOS process 22FDX, Arbe’s RF chipset is designed to support TD-MIMO and has “best-in-class” performance for channel isolation, noise figure, and transmit power.

Arbe said its platform has a radar antenna with the densest channel array in the industry, delivering a form factor designed to perfectly fit automakers’ current sizing and vehicle mounting specifications. The platform also includes a software layer that abstracts the hardware access and scheduling; and a reference design to guide tier-1 and OEM customers’ radar system development.