Since the initial release of our Premium Radar SDK in April 2022, more than twenty customers have started evaluating its advanced radar algorithms for interference mitigation, advanced MIMO processing, and angular resolution enhancement. The Korean automotive supplier Hyundai Mobis is convinced of the benefits, and has decided to integrate the Premium Radar SDK algorithms into its imaging radar platform to bring the radar system performance to the next level.
“After careful evaluation and our positive experience, we have decided to integrate NXP’s Premium Radar SDK’s advanced algorithms into our current imaging radar platform development based on the S32R45 radar processor.”
Dr. Moon, ADAS Sensor Sector Leader at Hyundai Mobis
The company is also interested in applying the Premium Radar SDK to its front radar sensor development, based on one-chip radar SoC.
Radar technology is becoming widely available and increasingly important in cars. It enables safety features such as automated emergency braking and blind spot detection to achieve the NCAP five-star rating. As a result, more cars are being equipped with radar systems, and the number of radar sensors carried per car is increasing. This leads to growing concerns about radar interference. When most of the sensors emit in the same 77 GHz band, they may limit or even impair each other’s functionality. Our Premium Radar SDK addresses these concerns by applying advanced processing in multiple domains. It suppresses the interfering signals in the raw data and delivers it with a greatly improved signal-to-noise ratio for further processing.
As the industry moves towards higher levels of autonomous driving, further improvements in sensor performance as well as more demanding features will become essential to better protect road users, especially the vulnerable ones, such as pedestrians and cyclists. More demanding features pose further challenges for automotive OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers, including the need for radar sensors to continuously improve their performance, while remaining within a certain cost scheme.
Adding more hardware to improve performance will increase the size, cost and complexity of the radar system. A more optimal and sustainable approach is to apply advanced radar signal processing to enhance radar performance through computational enhancement, making the most efficient use of the available hardware resources. The advanced MIMO processing techniques in our Premium Radar SDK allow a small antenna array to enjoy the benefits of a large one, elevation sensing and finer resolution at a fraction of the cost.
NXP’s Premium Radar SDK is designed to serve automotive radar applications, mid to long range front radar and 4D imaging radar. Get started with the Premium Radar SDK and apply the latest radar processing technologies and complements to your existing radar sensor solutions.
Super angular resolution algorithms are another notable feature of the Premium Radar SDK. They allow radar sensors to break the angular resolution limit imposed by the sensor’s physical antenna aperture, achieving two to four times improvement without increasing the size of the radar. The algorithms support both uniform linear array and sparse array antennas and serve a wide range of customer radar antenna designs.
Algorithms are designed and implemented to run optimally on our latest and future generations of radar processors and one-chip devices, covering the full range of applications from entry-level corner radar up to 4D imaging radar. They are ISO 26262 compliant and enable safety levels up to ASIL-B/D. Customers have the option to evaluate the Premium Radar SDK on a PC or on the target NXP hardware. Once customers decide for the Premium Radar SDK, they will receive full details of the algorithms for further customization and seamless integration into their sensor design.
Our Premium Radar SDK provides an additional option for customers to apply the latest radar processing technologies and complements their existing radar sensor solutions. This pathway allows customers to reduce the overall development effort and accelerate time-to-market.
The Premium Radar SDK for our S32R41 and S32R45 radar processors is now available for customer production. Support for new algorithms, features and additional NXP radar chipsets will be introduced successively in future releases.
For more information, please visit Premium Radar SDK: Enhancing Radar Performance.
Based in Hamburg, Germany, Huanyu has many years of experience in the automotive semiconductor industry, having worked in car access and infotainment prior to his current role in radar and V2X. Huanyu is passionate about continuously improving the safety and comfort of cars and achieving "Vision Zero" through the introduction of innovative technologies.
