NXP releases third generation imaging radar processors

“It is our third generation imaging radar processor, developed to meet the growing demand from Level 2+ to level 4 autonomous cars which will hit the roads in 2028 and 2029,” said Huanyu Gu, Marketing Director, ADAS for NXP.

“It will enable our tier 1 OEM customers to implement radar sensor solutions that offer higher resolution that support more challenging and advanced user cases like detecting small objects such as vulnerable persons or lost cargo,” explained Gu.

He reckons that with the two times extra compute capability versus the previous generation, which comes with the new processor, OEMs will be able to support more advanced applications and user cases like navigation on autopilot on motorways and highways as well as urban areas.

The S32R47 comes in a ina38%smallerICfootprint than earlier generations.

The new processor builds on NXP’s expertise in the imaging radar space. These imaging radar processors deliver up to twice the processing power versus the previous generation, alongside improved system cost and powerefficiency.

In combination with NXP’s mmWave radar transceivers, power management and in-vehicle networking solutions, the S32R47 family meets functional safety ASIL ISO 26262 ASIL B(D) requirements.

According to Yole Intelligence’s Status of the Radar Industry 2024 report, by 2029, approximately 40% of vehicles entering the road will be passenger cars with driving automation Level2+(L2+)/Level3(L3) as well as an increasing number of vehicles with Level 4 (L4). To serve the fast-growing autonomous driving market for SDVs, automotive OEMs and tier1 suppliers need to improve radar performance as it is essential forsafe, advanced autonomy features such as piloted driving or fully automated parking.

“The S32R47can efficiently process three times,or more,antenna channels in real time than today’s production solutions. It enables improved imaging radar resolution, sensitivity and dynamic range- required by demanding autonomous driving use cases - while still meeting the stringent power and system cost targets set by OEMs for volume production”,said Meindert van den Beld,Senior Vice President & General Manager, Radar & ADAS.

Imaging radar leverages richer point cloud data for more detailed modelling of the environment.This is a key enabler for AI-based perception systems which allow for assisted and autonomous driving in the most challenging environmental conditions, such as complex urban scenarios.

The S32R47 integrates a high-performance multi-core radar processing system, allowing denser point cloud output and enhanced algorithms that enable next-generation ADAS systems. It also includes AI/ML support for features like enhanced Direction of Arrival (DoA) processing and object classification

These next generation imaging radar solutions enable new imaging radars witho ptimized bill of material and increased scalability in terms of antenna channels and processing capability.

They achieve comparable or better performance with up to 89% less antenna channels than alternative solutions, solving integration challenges with reduced system cost, size and power consumption

Samples of the processors are already with NXP’s Tier 1 customers.