Automotive Imaging Radar: Big Picture and Best Practice

The global market for automotive sensors is at a critical juncture. Many of the world’s leading OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers are now widening their focus from solutions like cameras, LIDAR, traditional ToF radars and ultrasonic to more robust and comprehensive technologies such as next-generation automotive imaging radar for both in-cabin and Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) applications.

When evaluating automotive imaging radar solutions, the key aspects of successful adoption are cost-efficiency and technology readiness level. These priorities must be balanced with a full awareness of the potential hidden costs, effort and resources required for deployment.

Why Vayyar’s Imaging Radar Sensor Technology is in Pole Position

Vayyar’s highly advanced 4D imaging radar-on-chip (RoC) addresses these key factors with an optimal price-performance balance and minimal radar development effort required on the OEM and Tier One side.

With all digital and analog RF components (including a DSP and MCU) integrated into an AEC-Q100 qualified and ASIL-B compliant chip, it’s the most powerful RoC of its kind. Alternative solutions usually rely on 6-8 antennas, whereas Vayyar’s sensor houses up to 48 antennas, maintaining efficient performance while delivering exceptionally high resolution. This enables comprehensive detection and tracking of multiple targets inside and outside the cabin with pinpoint accuracy, addressing the industry’s most exacting safety requirements.

Super-resolution imaging radar

In fact, Vayyar is setting a new standard for automotive safety through robust, affordable, high-resolution imaging radar technology, enabling OEMs to achieve higher safety points for less, both in and out of the cabin. One Vayyar imaging radar sensor inside the car and 2-4 outside the car are designed to provide up to 35% of a vehicle’s Euro NCAP points for a 5-star rating, addressing the requirements of multiple protocols on the 2020-2025 roadmap.

Combining its unprecedented resolution with an ultra-wide field of view, Vayyar’s 4D imaging radar is engineered for multifunctionality. This enables automakers to shift from the “one sensor per application” model to a cross-functional approach that enables more with less. In other words, OEMs can significantly reduce the number of sensors in vehicles, while maintaining cost-efficiency. Tier 1 suppliers can provide safety solutions based on a single sensor, which acts as a platform for more features and unique added value.

However, technology adoption in vehicles also requires a panoramic perspective when planning the route to deployment. In the case of 4D imaging radar, a partner that handles every aspect of the process is crucial to seamless, low-risk integration.

Challenges of implementing automotive imaging radar

Traditionally, the process of developing applications over automotive imaging radar is a painstaking one. When multiple vendors are involved, it inevitably increases the risk of a multi-billion dollar launch delay. With modern cars containing up to 100 Electronic Control Units (ECUs), new projects and launch complexity are a direct result of the multi-layered nature of ECUs.

The foundational layer of the solution — the hardware — requires engineers to account for the radar IC, antenna design, BOM selection, PCB design, and manufacturing.

Vayyar’s A to Z solution 

Vayyar, in contrast, offers a one-stop-shop solution that provides all necessary hardware components including a powerful mmWave RFIC, an extensive MiMo antenna array and fully tested reference design for both in-car monitoring and ADAS.

In terms of software, our solution includes cutting-edge 4D imaging radar algorithms, a fully post-processed 3D/4D point cloud API and a rich dataset that significantly reduces time to market.

On the sourcing level, Vayyar’s hardware-software platform eliminates the need to seek out multiple vendors for the design of different parts, hire radar algo developers and recruit the large workforce required for integration and testing.

In fact, Vayyar is the only Tier 2 supplier that provides much more than just a radar RFIC and low-cost development board. We offer a complete “prototype to mass production” solution that mitigates the inherent risk of deploying complex, multi-component technology. 

Our highly experienced team of radar-algo experts and support personnel ensures professional, reliable integration of the technology. Vayyar eliminates the need for our partners to invest efforts in radar development, enabling them instead to focus primarily on imaging, with complete application-readiness for a variety of use cases, both inside and outside the vehicle.

Unique in-cabin capabilities

Inside the car, Vayyar is leading the way with the only single-sensor in-cabin monitoring solution that covers three complete seating rows and the presence of eight occupants. One RFIC detects, locates and classifies adults and children, avoiding false positives across a handful of safety applications. Powered by a high-performance 3D/4D imaging radar-on-chip, the sensor supports a wide range of life-saving features, from Child Presence Detection (CPD) and intelligent Seatbelt Reminders (SBR) to optimized Airbag Deployment and intruder alerts.

360-degree ADAS protection

On the outside, Vayyar’s integrated software-hardware platform also serves as an ADAS solution, replacing 20 other sensors with fewer than four. This technology delivers better resolution and robustness than alternatives, at a lower cost, supporting SRR, MRR and LRR applications.

Our 4D imaging radar chip assists drivers both at low speeds — with point cloud data for parking assistance, for example — and at high speeds, by supporting features including:

• Blind Spot Detection (BSD) 
• Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) 
• Forward and Rear Collision Warnings (FCW & RCW) 
• Forward and Rear Cross-traffic Alerts (FCTA & RCTA)
• alerts for height obstacles and other obstructions

Vayyar’s versatile solution powers a uniquely wide range of passive and active safety combos, and with so much riding on successful adoption, it is designed to ensure delivery on all fronts.

Road-ready technology

Mass production readiness can only be verified by extensive, exhaustive testing. That’s why Vayyar’s solutions are AEC-Q100 qualified, ASIL-B compliant and have been fully evaluated over thousands of test cases to ensure industry-leading reliability rates. Our Radar-on-Chip is designed both for in-car and ADAS applications and operates in the 60GHz and 79GHz bands, across the same software architecture.

With the accelerating pace of safety requirements and innovation, Vayyar also provides OTA software updates that enable OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers to stay ahead of the game, even after vehicles hit the road. As industry needs evolve, applications can be updated remotely, delivering continued multifunctionality throughout the car’s lifetime.

Unlike alternative automotive imaging radar suppliers, we provide a complete all-in-one solution that lowers risks and dramatically reduces the number of sensors required in a vehicle, bringing down both costs and complexity from the starting grid to the checkered flag.