Uhnder, a developer of digital imaging radar technology for automotive and next-generation mobility applications, will soon become the first company to mass-produce a fully automotive qualified, 4D digital imaging radar-on-chip.

The S80 is a fully integrated 77 GHz, 4D Imaging Radar-on-Chip (RoC) with Digital Code Modulation (DCM) certified for use in automotive safety applications, such as automatic emergency braking (AEB), lane keep assist, adaptive cruise control, and blind-spot detection, as well as automated driving functions, including autonomous vehicles.

The RoC uses a phase-modulated continuous wave (PMCW), multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) radar architecture capable of processing up to 192 virtual channels. It supports 12 transmit antenna channels (Tx) and 16 receive antenna channels (Rx). The S80 is fully software-defined, has built-in processors to run algorithms on chip and can also enable optimization with deep learning neural networks and artificial intelligence (AI) found in the most advanced automated perception systems.

The device’s DCM minimizes mutual interference from neighboring radar and provides high contrast resolution (HCR) delivering maximum discrimination as well as high-confidence detection of independent targets, including vulnerable road users (VRUs), such as pedestrians and cyclists, in long-(LRR), mid-(MRR), and short-range radar (SRR) applications.

Uhnder’s 4D digital imaging radar-on-chip is a next-generation product that demonstrates new ways to advance automotive safety to save lives. Fatalities of vulnerable road users are now 20 percent of all roadway deaths in the US and even more in developing countries. ADAS technologies, such as pedestrian automatic emergency braking (P-AEB) that can reliably operate at night, can help reduce pedestrian fatalities per the latest report from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Improved high-resolution perception sensors, such as Uhnder’s radar-on-chip can potentially help reduce this rising fatality category.

—Douglas Campbell, president, Automotive Safety Council

Uhnder’s technology delivers the industry’s first digital radar solution with better accuracy and the power to sense moving or standing objects, large or small, at both short and long distances in all-weather and lighting conditions, all while mitigating mutual interference between other radars. Uhnder’s digital radar can clearly identify a pedestrian crossing the road, a child entering the street from beside a parked car, or a bicyclist next to a guard rail, at levels of accuracy that legacy analog radar systems cannot achieve.

Digital radar provides 16 times better resolution, 24 times more power on target, and 30 times better contrast than today’s analog offerings, improving detection capabilities for better road safety for all users – drivers, passengers, cyclists, and pedestrians. As more and more radars are fitted onto vehicles and other mobility solutions, interference among adjacent radar becomes problematic. Our radar, based on Digital Code Modulation, mitigates this problem.

—Manju Hegde, CEO and cofounder, Uhnder

In April 2022, Uhnder will release its radar-on-chip to mass production. The device will be the first 4D digital imaging radar solution and will have completed stringent automotive requirements:

• Automotive Electronics Council (AEC) Q104 qualification

• ISO 26262 Automotive Safety Integrity Level (ASIL-B) rating

• Production Part Approval Process (PPAP) with its first Tier 1 automotive customer, Magna

Uhnder’s radar-on-chip, used in Magna’s ICON Digital Radar, will debut on vehicles in 2022.