Single-chip radar enables system solution for ADAS

The SAF86xx monolithically integrates a high-performance radar transceiver, a multi-core radar processor and a MACsec hardware engine for state-of-the-art secure data communication over Automotive Ethernet.

“It is aimed at software defined vehicle architectures,” says Matthias Feulner, Senior Director, ADAS at NXP Semiconductors.

He notes moves by premium OEMS shifting from safety features to car comfort features.

“Moving on to the concept of software-defined vehicles, where it is not just fixed-function hardware, we expect the vehicles capabilities to evolve over its lifetime, involving quarterly and, even monthly upgrades to its features, similar to customers’ mobile phone experiences, where over time new capabilities will be added,” adds Feulner.

The SAF86xx follows hard on the heels of last year’s launch by NXP of the SAF 85xx, the first 28nm single-chip radar.

It brings into play software-defined architectures where the sensors are connected to form a network, in contrast to previous generations where functionality was embedded on to individual sensors.

“The SAF86xx provides the sensor front-end and the S32R microprocessor supplies the compute function for the network,” explains Feulner.

Forming a full system solution these capabilities pave the way pave the way for advanced, software-defined radar.

The highly integrated radar SoC (System-on-Chip) is intended for streaming rich low-level radar sensor data at up to 1 Gbit/s. It helps carmakers optimize next-generation ADAS partitioning for software-defined vehicles, while providing for a smooth transition to new architectures.

Additionally, OEMs will be able to easily introduce new software-defined radar features during the lifetime of the vehicle through Over-the-Air (OTA) updates.

It shares a common architecture with the SAF85xx introduced last year and leverages 28 nm RFCMOS performance for significantly improved radar sensor capabilities, compared to prior-generation 40 nm or 45 nm products. It enables Tier-1 suppliers to build more compact and power-efficient radar sensors.

Drivers and other road users will benefit from extended detection range beyond 300 m, along with more reliable detection of small objects like curb stones as well as vulnerable road users including cyclists and pedestrians. 

“Using our new SAF86xx radar one-chip family, OEMs can quickly and easily migrate their current radar platforms to new software-defined vehicle architectures,” said Steffen Spannagel, SVP and GM, ADAS, NXP Semiconductors. “A network of connected radar sensors with software-defined functions on a dedicated S32R radar processor in a distributed architecture can enhance radar-based perception to support advancements in autonomous driving. That includes 360-degree sensing, more powerful AI-based algorithms and secure OTA software updates.”  

HELLA, a leading supplier of automotive electronics, will leverage NXP’s SoC family as the foundation for its 7^th generation radar portfolio, including variants for front, rear, corner, and side radar.

The new radar one-chip supports NCAP safety functions including emergency braking and blind-spot detection. It also supports advanced ADAS and autonomous driving applications, including advanced comfort features for SAE levels 2+ and 3 such as traffic jam assist, highway pilot and park assist, front and rear cross-traffic alerts, as well as lateral and rear collision avoidance. 

The comprehensive SAF8xxx family featuring the new SAF86xx and SAF85xx can be tailored for individual OEM use cases. It supports a range of sensor outputs, including object, point cloud-, or range-FFT-level data for smart sensors in today’s architectures and streaming sensors in future distributed architectures.

The SAF86xx radar SoC family is sampling now for alpha customers.

The new device was announced at CES 2023 in Las Vegas.