Recent years have seen the overwhelming installation rate of mmWave radar in smart cars as intelligent driving advances to higher levels. The radar solution employed by new cars is also evolving to a 5R (5 mmWave radar sensors) configuration, where in most cases 1 forward-looking radar sensor and 4 corner radar sensors are included, or even configurations with more radar devices.

As a leading fabless provider of mmWave radar chips and solutions, Calterah has enabled the corner radar applications to 50+ car models, in the market and to be mass-produced. At present, many top Chinese and foreign passenger car brands have adopted Calterah’s corner radar solutions developed based on its automotive-grade mmWave radar SoCs.

Calterah provides a multi-mode radar solution for corner radar applications, including high-performance DDM-MIMO for medium-range mode and TDM-MIMO for short-range mode, which enables real-time detection of objects beside, in front of and behind the vehicle, providing the information regarding range, relative velocity, azimuth, and elevation of targets.

The high-performance DDM-MIMO function can be applied to the medium-range mode and has several performance advantages:

• Long detection range (0.4 m–110 m) and wide velocity measurement range (-85 m/s–85 m/s);

• 16 channels for 2D angle measurement in azimuth and elevation, with high angle measurement accuracy (±0.3° for azimuth) and high angle measurement resolution (4° for azimuth);

• Long-distance detection of objects in the same lane of the vehicle enabled by an antenna design supporting 45° beam-deflection, while ensuring large FOV (azimuth: -75°–75°, elevation: -12°–12°).

The DDM-MIMO function can be applied for scenarios requiring high-performance corner radar, including Blind Spot Detection (BSD), Lane Change Assist (LCA), Rear Cross Traffic Alert (RCTA), and Door Open Warning (DOW).

In addition, the multi-mode radar system can also support the TDM-MIMO function which can be applied to the short-range mode. This mode is featured by wide detection range (0.1 m–22.5 m), high range resolution (0.1 m), high-velocity resolution (0.13 m/s), large FOV (-75°–75°), 2D angle measurement in azimuth and elevation, high angle measurement resolution (4° for azimuth), and high angle measurement accuracy (±0.3° for azimuth). The TDM-MIMO function can cover the requirements of parking scenarios, such as APA (Automatic Parking Assist), and AVP (Automated Valet Parking).

Calterah’s multi-mode corner radar solution is based on its 77 GHz automotive-grade SoC chip of the Alps family—CAL77S244-AE, which integrates a highly configurable FMCW waveform generator, high-speed ADCs, radar signal processing baseband, a CPU, and multiple peripheral interfaces.

The highly integrated SoCs of Calterah, just like CAL77S244-AE, can greatly lower the radar system design threshold and shortens the development cycle. The cost advantage brought by the CMOS process technology makes Calterah more competitive in the fierce market competition. Moreover, the optimized design for power efficiency of Calterah SoCs delivers an over 30% reduction in power consumption. All these features provide a solid foundation for the rapid growth of automotive radar sensors.

In addition to corner radar, Calterah’s product portfolio can meet various scenario-specific needs, such as short-range radar, surround view radar, in-cabin vital signs detection, and forward-looking radar, reducing the R&D investment and time of customers and accelerating productization. Calterah will continue to provide global users with higher-performance, easier-to-use, and more power-efficient mmWave radar technology, living our mission to Make Millimeter-Wave Serve Everyone.