The Future of Radar and Advanced Driving Assistance

New Car Assessment Programs across the world are calling for automotive radar to be used in a variety of safety applications from blind spot detection and collision avoidance to self-parking and obstacle detection. How did radar become such an important part of the advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) landscape, how are carmakers approaching the technology and what does the future hold for radar? These are some of the questions that veteran automotive reporter, John Quain, explores with Matthias Feulner, Director of Marketing for ADAS at NXP Semiconductors.

Key Components for Automotive Safety

This episode of the Smarter World Podcast delves into some of the interesting topics surrounding radar including imaging radar as well as how automotive OEMs and tier-one suppliers are racing to meet the expanding safety requirements of the New Car Assessment Programs by balancing the relative merits of vision, radar and LiDAR technologies.

All three technologies have unique value for automotive safety applications, and no single technology is complete in its ability to enable autonomous driving or ADAS functionality. But where costs are concerned, LiDAR sensors will remain largely cost prohibitive until the advent of L4 and L5 vehicles makes this technology indispensable for meeting the requisite liability and insurance thresholds. In addition to streamlining onboard laser and optics costs, mechanically rotated LiDAR implementations will also need to evolve in a manner that eliminates the reliability challenges inherent to moving part-based assemblies.

Radar's Vital Role

Radar, next to cameras, is one of the mainstream sensors in the car today. As the level of autonomy increases within cars, from level zero meaning no automation, to level five with fully automated driving, radar is the mainstream sensor next to cameras. As the demand for autonomy increases, more sensors will be needed since there isn't any single sensor that meets all the requirements of a given configuration. And as the demand for autonomy increases, radar will be a vital sensor for driving in inclement weather or low light.

Imaging Radar for Precision

Matthias touches on the topic of imaging radar in the podcast offering that - “…It gives a very precise representation of the car's environment that enables a much more precise map that tells different cars from one another on a crowded road, and that would allow the detection of vulnerable road users, children stepping out between two parked cars, that would allow to tell static objects, bridges from moving objects, vehicles, or would allow to detect the dimensions reliably of static objects like bridges, so you can see whether it's safe to pass through under a bridge.”

Hear more about imaging radar and other radar topics in this latest podcast.