In the prototype stage, Cognitive 4D Imaging Radar can detect objects at a distance of 300 meters in the range of azimuth angles greater than 90 to 100 degrees and elevation angles from to 15 to 20 degrees. The frequency band is 76 to 81 GHz. The size of the radar is about that of two iPhones. Notably, Cognitive 4D Imaging Radar does the vertical scanning without the use of any mechanical elements.
Olga Uskova, president of Cognitive says, “Until now on the autonomous driving market there is no such radar that is ready for a serial mass production. Cognitive Imaging Radar detects not only the coordinates and speed of the road scene objects, but also their shape - just like a video camera does. This is truly a third eye of an autonomous vehicle. Radar works at any speed, in any weather conditions and has the best resolution and accuracy of objects detection – over 97.7%. In combination with video camera – this fusion guarantees safety on the road. This is the revolutionary development for the entire automotive industry. Another important thing is that the device has an affordable cost and compact dimensions, which makes it possible to start mass production right now.”
According to Cognitive Technologies, the design of the existing radars, that are currently available on the market, work only in one horizontal dimension. These conventional radars can only calculate distance to objects, trajectory of their movements and speed. But they cannot determine the shape of the objects. For example, such radars are practically unable to distinguish a car from a pedestrian or a bridge from a long truck.
To get the necessary information about the road scene, many car manufacturers must use LiDAR. However, the physical characteristics of LiDARs significantly decrease in rain, snow, fog and dust. In addition, their cost is usually comparable to the price of the whole vehicle. These factors exclude the possibility of their industrial use now.
In addition, radar supports the tech Synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) technique that is used to recreate the environment around the vehicle. This technology uses the radar and on-board computer of the vehicle to build a map of the environment around. Such a map is necessary for any autonomous vehicle to understand where the car is located and what scenarios on the road are possible. The technology also allows the robocar to see in high quality such objects as potholes, curbs, roadside verges.
Together with video cameras and Cognitive Low level Data Fusion technology, the cost of the radar will not exceed a few hundred dollars. As per Cognitive Technologies’ Olga Uskova, the company has got a pre-order from a car manufacturer for 200 thousand units. For more info, visit Cognitive Technologies.