The new darling of advanced driver assistance systems: millimeter wave radar

Nowadays, the automobile industry has developed so fast that driving safety and comfort have become a special concern of consumers. In this case, advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) have emerged and become an important part of modern cars. These systems rely on sophisticated sensors and algorithms to help drivers make driving safer and reduce accidents. Among many sensors, millimeter wave radar is particularly popular because of its own unique performance characteristics.

▲ What is millimeter wave radar?

Millimeter wave radar is a radio wave detection technology used in the millimeter band, generally between 30GHz and 300GHz. This radar has a very short wavelength and can detect very high resolution in a small space. Millimeter wave radar can not only detect the target very accurately, but also work normally in bad weather such as rain, fog and snow, which improves driving safety a lot.

▲ What is the working principle of millimeter wave radar?

Millimeter-wave radar detects obstacles by transmitting electromagnetic waves and then receiving the wave signals reflected. Specifically, it relies on antennas to send out highly focused, frequency-stable signals that bounce back when they hit obstacles. After the radar system receives the reflected wave, by analyzing the wave's waveform, frequency and phase difference, it can work out how far away the object is, what its speed is and what its Angle is.

Particularly important is that the millimeter wave radar has a strong anti-interference ability. No matter how bad the weather, it can work steadily, which is not compared to traditional optical sensors. For example, when encountering fog or heavy rain, the range that the optical sensor can see becomes particularly small, but the millimeter-wave radar can still accurately detect the obstacles in front of it.

▲ How is millimeter wave radar used in ADAS?

1. Adaptive cruise control

Adaptive cruise control is a common ADAS feature in modern cars. The millimeter-wave radar monitors the distance and speed of the vehicle in front of it in real time, and can automatically adjust the speed of the car to keep a safe distance between the car and the car in front. If there is an obstacle in front of you to slow down or stop, the system will automatically slow down and brake if necessary to ensure that you will not rear-end the car.

2. Collision warning system

Collision warning systems are important for improving vehicle safety. Millimeter wave radar can effectively predict the risk of collision with obstacles ahead because of its high detection accuracy. As soon as the system detects that a collision is likely, it will immediately issue a warning and automatically apply the brakes if necessary to minimize the accident rate.

3. Blind spot monitoring

Another important application of millimeter wave radar is blind spot monitoring. When merging lines or changing lanes, there are often blind spots behind the side of the vehicle, and the traditional rearview mirror can not cover this area. Millimeter wave radar is equipped with sensors on both sides of the rear of the car, which can real-time monitor the vehicle in the blind spot, timely alarm, and help the driver avoid potential dangers.

4. Lane keeping assistance

The lane keeping assist system relies on millimeter wave radar and camera to accurately identify and monitor lane lines. If the car veers out of the lane, the system tweaks the steering slightly to help the driver stay in the lane, making driving safer. This system is especially useful during long drives, making the driver less tired.

▲ What are the advantages of millimeter wave radar?

Millimeter wave radar has many advantages over other sensor technologies. First of all, it has a very long detection distance, usually up to several hundred meters, and can give early warning information to the driver. Second, it is responsive and can process data in real time to adapt to the ever-changing traffic environment. In addition, millimeter wave radar is simple in structure, relatively small and lightweight, and easy to integrate into modern automotive designs.

It performs better when used with other sensors. Just as when used with cameras, millimeter wave radar measures distance and speed, and cameras recognize road signs and obstacles in the environment, they work together to make driving strategies more accurate.

▲ What is the future development trend?

With the increasing development of intelligent networked vehicles, the application prospect of millimeter wave radar will be more and more broad. Especially in the field of autonomous driving, millimeter-wave radar can provide vehicles with particularly important environmental awareness. In the automatic driving, the vehicle has to react quickly in the complex traffic environment, and the millimeter-wave radar can ensure the safe and smooth running of the vehicle by its high-precision detection ability.

Moreover, as millimeter wave radar technology becomes more mature and cheaper, it may be able to make this technology popular in more models in the future, and even in shared cars and taxis, which can be used to provide a high level of driving assistance and safety protection to more people.

In short, millimeter wave radar as one of the core technologies of advanced driver assistance systems, its unique performance and more and more application scenarios, so that it has great potential in future traffic safety and intelligence. Whether it is to improve driving safety or promote the process of intelligent driving, millimeter wave radar plays an irreplaceable important role.