Innovative radar technology

By
Sunday, 26 October, 2003

Cambridge Consultants Ltd (CCL) has announced a breakthrough in radar safety systems for automobiles, with the potential to make sophisticated reversing and anti-collision safety aids an affordable accessory for the mass market.

The design and development consultancy has solved major electronic challenges to allow it to use lower frequency - and lower cost - components than alternative radar reversing and anti-collision technology. The radar's field of view is also completely programmable, allowing a system to dynamic and intelligently adapt as the vehicle's steering wheels change direction.

The radar solves the performance and cost issues that have stalled progress in this area - heralding a new generation of smart anti-collision technology capable of meeting the demanding economic goals of the automotive industry.

"Building a radar for road use has been technically feasible for many years - the core issue is how to make one for a tiny fraction of the costs usually involved," says Gordon Oswald of Cambridge Consultants. "The design principles in this system draw on defence technology, but have been heavily re-engineered to work in a frequency band that is becoming commonplace for wireless consumer gadgets - providing the required performance in a form capable of meeting the aggressive cost targets of the high volume automotive arena."

Working at a lower frequency this radar reduces the cost of the components required to build a system, and avoids the time and cost overhead which precision assembly of higher frequency equipment imposes. Just four radar modules and one electronic control unit (ECU) are required to provide 360° protection - further reducing the bill of materials compared with alternative approaches which can require two or more modules to be installed on every side of a vehicle.

CCL's antenna technology provides a further major safety benefit. Instead of focusing on a limited field of view, the antennas are all broad beam, and are programmed in software to provide the desired horizontal and vertical coverage. By simply changing the mathematical 'filter' applied to echo reception, the field of view changes. This allows the radar to adapt in real-time as the steering wheels change direction: in the case of a rear view system for example, it provides smart feedback when backing into a space between automobiles. The company has constructed a proof-of-concept CCL-Softcar to demonstrate the technology to automotive manufacturers. Rear- and side-view CCL-Softcar systems have ranges of 5 m and an angular resolution of less than 2°. Forward-looking radars have a range of 25 m.

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