Count on Design Software for Millimeter-Wave Automotive Radar and Antenna System Development, Part 2 (.PDF Download)

Ongoing developments in advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) are expanding the capabilities and affordability of vehicles that can alert and assist drivers using radar technology mostly focused over the 76-to-81 GHz spectrum. Part 1 provided an overview of ADAS systems and discussed various radar systems and architectures. Part 2 discusses multi-beam and multi-range design and examines antenna design for multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO), and beam-steering technologies for 5G that will be useful for automotive safety in the future.

Multi-Beam/Multi-Range Design

A typical adaptive-cruise-control (ACC) stop-and-go system requires multiple short- and long-range radar sensors to detect nearby vehicles. The shorter-range radar typically covers up to 60 m with an angle coverage up to ±45°, allowing the detection of the vehicle’s adjacent lanes that may cut into the current travel lane. The longer-range radar provides coverage up to 250 m and an angle of ±5° to ±10° to detect vehicles in the same lane, further ahead.

To support multiple ranges and scan angles, module manufacturers such as Bosch, DENSO, and Delphi have developed and integrated multi-range, multi-detection functionality into increasingly capable and cost-sensitive sensors using multi-channel transmitter (TX)/receiver (RX) architectures. These different ranges can be addressed with multi-beam/multi-range radar by employing radar technology such as frequency-modulated-continuous-wave (FMCW) and digital beamforming with antenna-array design.