TI mmWave sensor, single-chip design reduces cost and eases design
Features include 76~81GHz, minimum signal range of 3cm, and maximum output power of 12dBm.

The 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics opening ceremony was not marked by the fluttering Olympic rings, but by 1,218 drones flying. Intel broke the Guinness World Record with its drone sensor and simultaneous control technology. The technology demonstrated through the drone performance is expected to be widely used in the future for entertainment and events, as well as drone delivery and monitoring, transportation, security, and industrial applications such as agriculture.

Our government has announced that it will raise our drone technology competitiveness to the world's top 5, and Texas Instruments (TI) has announced that the global unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) market is expected to reach 21 billion dollars by 2022 and lead the global market economy with the goal of providing more than 127 billion dollars in business services.

The design and use of drones in industry will have a significant impact on our current lives, including increasing productivity and improving safety. However, there are technological challenges that need to be addressed to realize the use and deployment of drones in various fields.



Airborne devices utilizing communications technology are sensitive to weather and sunlight conditions, visibility issues due to smoke, fog, obstacles, and radio interference, which can quickly lead to safety and productivity issues. TI’s mmWave contactless sensors are suitable for indoor and outdoor operation, as they can be used in harsh environments such as lightning, rain, dust, and ice. And by calculating the distance, speed, and angle of objects around the equipment, it is possible to respond according to the situation.

TI mmWave sensor devices are single-chip devices that can be configured in a small size. They also implement high accuracy and resolution, and can be applied in various fields because they utilize internal MCUs and DSPs. They can be applied to radars for various applications using software-defined radios, and since they are designed as single-chip solutions, they consume less power.

Existing chips are configured by separating the digital blocks that process the radar signals received by RX and TX. As a result, the PCB size increases and the price also increases. In the process, there are noise generation and design difficulties. TI's mmWave sensor device is a single chip, so it can solve the above shortcomings and have the resolution and low power characteristics of mmWave.

TI's operating characteristics can obtain range, velocity, and angle through RAW ADC. The basic frequency band is 76~81GHz, the minimum range of the signal is 3cm, the minimum angle accuracy is 1 degree, and the maximum output power is 12dBm, so it can cover a wide range and high power of 30mW~2.7W.

This allows for a lightweight design. Reducing weight increases flight and drive time on a given battery, and makes deployment easier. The payload budget increases, allowing for onboard application-specific tools.

Additionally, because the margin of error is reduced, when a drone lands, the distance between the autonomous vehicle and another car can be accurately detected in centimeters, ensuring safety.

It is an object detection and avoidance platform that operates even in environments with physical obstacles. Accordingly, drones' ability to detect obstacles and take avoidance measures reduces damage to industrial equipment such as automobiles and drones and to the surrounding environment.

TI mmWave sensors that overcome the shortcomings of existing devices and have the above features are the IWR 1443 and IWR 1642. Both sensors have a frequency band of 76–81 GHz, and the difference is in the DSP and hardware accelerator.

IWR 1443 : It has a built-in hardware accelerator for radar signal processing. It is a solution that can make radar applications into a single chip through user programming for a simple MCU. Examples include entry-level, single-chip sensors. Through hardware blocks, you can obtain the final outputs of range, velocity, and angle through three stages of preprocessing, FFT, and detection.

IWR 1642 : Same architecture as IWR 1443, but with DSP instead of hardware accelerator, providing flexibility by adding user algorithms along with radar signal processing. An example is a user-oriented full-function single-chip radar. It provides more processed output through clustering, tracking, and object classification in the processing of IWR 1443.

When asked about RF regulations and whether it is possible to measure multiple devices, TI’s Kim Hyun-wook said, “First of all, the 77 GHz band is permitted for automotive applications, and future policy changes on frequency use should be monitored.” He added, “Measuring the speed of multiple devices requires tracking with a tracking algorithm for each, and post-processing of the received result data.” He continued, “We hope that the IWR mmWave series of millimeter wave radar sensors for industrial applications will be utilized in a wide range of industries, including level transmitters, drones, and transportation.”