Las Vegas – Mobileye, a world leader in the development of autonomous vehicle technology and advanced driver-assistance systems, is excited to announce the launch of a new software-defined imaging radar system called “4D radar.” This technology will allow autonomous vehicles to navigate and understand their environment in a variety of weather, lighting, and road conditions.
4D radar will play a key role in the deployment of fully autonomous vehicles and the most advanced forms of driver-assistance technology. It works by emitting radio frequency signals to detect obstacles and, similar to cameras, the more data it can process, the more details it can spot. When paired with advanced cameras, 4D radar can provide sensing at longer distances and in certain weather or lighting conditions that can even challenge camera-based imaging.
Mobileye’s 4D radar uses advanced radar architecture, including a Massive MIMO (multiple-input, multiple-output) antenna design and a high-end radio frequency design developed in-house, as well as high-fidelity sampling. These features enable accurate object detection and a wider dynamic range. With an integrated system-on-chip design that maximizes processor efficiency and world-leading algorithms for interpreting radar data, 4D radar delivers a detailed, four-dimensional image of surroundings up to 1,000 feet away and beyond. It has a 140-degree field-of-view at medium range and a 170-degree field of view in close range, allowing for more accurate detection of pedestrians, vehicles, or obstructions that other sensors might miss, even on crowded urban streets.
Mobileye has announced a collaboration with Wistron NeWeb Corp. (WNC) for the production of 4D radar. WNC, based in Taiwan, is a major electronics and radar supplier for automakers worldwide. This partnership is expected to allow Mobileye and WNC to begin producing automotive-grade imaging radars in two years, with strong initial interest from key automaker customers.
“The imaging radars we have been developing over the past few years are uniquely designed to be an essential enabler of high autonomy levels in future vehicles, by delivering rich and reliable radar output, upgrading perception-by-radar capabilities, and reducing the need for multiple lidar sensors,” said Yaniv Avital, Mobileye’s Radar Vice President and General Manager. “WNC’s experience and accomplishments as an automotive supplier can help us bring this much-needed innovation to the market by our original targeted timeline and at the expected quality.”
“The new imaging radar technology is a key focus for future high-level autonomous driving,” said Repus Hsiung, Vice President & General Manager of the Automotive & Industrial Solutions BG at WNC. “We are delighted to collaborate with Mobileye to accelerate the availability of advanced imaging radars in the market. Leveraging our expertise in automotive electronics and radar solutions, we look forward to working with Mobileye to further develop exciting new capabilities.”
Mobileye’s True Redundancy approach to autonomous vehicles envisions using 4D radar to create a 360-degree sensing system that operates in addition to, but independently from, a camera-based system. By having multiple systems that are each capable of navigating a vehicle alone, the “eyes off” autonomous system can deliver reliable rides with a low chance of failure and simplified safety validation. 4D radar can also play a role in more advanced hands-free ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems) solutions as an alternative to LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) solutions, which are typically far more expensive.
