NXP to develop 77 GHz automotive radar designs for the Chinese market

NXP semiconductors, a key player in the 77 GHz radar solutions market has announced a new strategic collaboration and investment agreement with Hawkeye technology, a company at the forefront of the Chinese automotive radar sector. Hawkeye will offer its deep 77 GHz expertise, a team of highly qualified engineers and a state-of-the-art lab complex within Southeast University in Nanjing, China. Together, the two companies will create NXP-based reference designs for the Chinese automotive market.

China’s automotive radar sensor market is growing at nearly 2 times the global growth rate. Current automotive market analysis projects that by 2020, radar technology will be in 50% of all newly produced cars. These robust appraisals are driven in part by the China New Car Assessment Program (C-NCAP), which mandates the further implementation and innovation of radar in safety-related applications such as blind spot detection, automatic emergency braking, front and rear cross traffic detection and precise environmental mapping.

NXP is a pioneer and market in RFCMOS-based 77 GHz automotive radar sensors, a key technology in the next phase of the advanced driving assistance roadmap. This edge technology will continue to develop to address the detection and classification of vulnerable road users, full and surround view applications and the ultimate solution; imaging radar, which could in time replace more expensive and bulky technologies. NXP is building on the success of its radar sensor and S32 processing portfolio and its large scale commercial implementations by partnering with top engineering talent in China.

The cooperation will address important research areas in automotive radar to help China’s domestic Tier 1 suppliers meet the challenges of this complex, fast-growing technology through complete radar system solutions and reference designs. The partnership aims to help shape the future of radar implementation in China.

Southeast University and Hawkeye have established a joint research center focusing on vehicle millimeter-wave radar technologies. At the same time, they have launched long-term research on millimeter wave multi-system radar imaging, new millimeter wave antenna arrays, and new millimeter wave circuit structures. The collaboration will help the Chinese automotive market innovate with system-level solutions and radar reference designs.