On the morning of 19th July, the award ceremony of the Sixth China College IC Competition “Calterah Cup” of North China Division and the IC Innovation Transformation Summit took place in Beijing. As the title sponsor for the North China competition, Calterah attended the award ceremony and shared insights into mmWave radar development at the summit.

The competition attracted more than 1000 students from universities in North China and 149 teams entered the final. After the oral defense session, the teams to be awarded were determined and then announced in the award ceremony. Then followed the IC Innovation Transformation Summit, which was live streamed and attracted scores of views from students and IC industry insiders.

As a key sensor to autonomous driving, mmWave radar has evolved rapidly. In a speech delivered at the summit, Calterah’s CEO Dr. Chen Jiashu reviewed mmWave IC process evolution from GaAs to SiGe, and then to the current CMOS. CMOS has effectively simplified the system design of mmWave radar modules, significantly improved the integration level of chips, and lowered module-level costs and power consumption. Therefore, it has paved the way for the wide application of mmWave radar.

Dr. Chen also pointed out two major trends of auto mmWave radar development in recent years, the emergence of lower-power and more compact radar and the 4D imaging technology.

The AiP (Antenna-in-Package) technology helps create more compact and lower-cost mmWave SoCs and shortens the R&D and production cycles. AiP mmWave radar ICs can also meet the requirements of emerging auto applications and enable autonomous driving functions such as APA (Automatic Parking Assist), AVP (Automated Valet Parking), power door collision avoidance, ICS (In-Cabin Sensing), etc., advancing a broader adoption of mmWave radar.

The promising 4D imaging radar technology is capable to provide highly accurate azimuth-elevation information with better angular resolution and dense and quality 4D point clouds, hence it can work as a standalone sensor to offer true redundancy. The up-coming mmWave SoC products for 4D image radar from Calterah will well satisfy the requirements of Level 3 and higher autonomous driving systems.

As a key driver of the IC industry, innovation is the consistent pursuit to achieve technological breakthroughs and self-sufficiency, which is also embodied in Calterah’s the core values, guiding Calterah to lead technological revolutions of mmWave radar ICs and realize its mission of “Make mmWave Serve Everyone”.