FMCW radar sensor covers 76 GHz to 81 GHz

The AWR294x is a single-chip mmWave sensor and FMCW transceiver (76 GHz to 81 GHz band) with radar data processing elements and peripherals ideal for low-power, self-monitored, ultra-accurate radar systems in automotive in-vehicle networking applications.

This radar sensor features both TI’s low-power 45 nm radio frequency complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (RFCMOS) and a user-programmable Arm Cortex-R5F processor to streamline automotive interface and custom control applications in small form factor with minimal BOM.

The AWR294x integrated phase-locked loop (PLL), mixer, voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO), and baseband analogue to digital converter (ADC) with digital signal processing (DSP) subsystem (DSS) feature TI’s high-performance C66x DSP for radar signal processing that includes a radio processor subsystem (RSS), responsible for radar front-end control, configuration, and calibration.

A hardware accelerator block (HWA 2.0) streamlines common radar processing, saving processing power and resources for custom applications and higher-level algorithms. S

Simple programming model changes can enable reconfiguration for implementing a multimode sensor.

A hardware security module (HSM) with a programmable Arm Cortex-M4 core provides a secure zone of operation.

The AWR2944EVM radar sensor evaluation module is an easy-to-use platform for the demonstration and development of the AWR2944 radar sensor. The kit contains everything required to start developing software for the on-chip C66x digital signal processor (DSP), Arm Cortex-R5F controller, and hardware accelerator (HWA 2.0).

Also included is onboard emulation for programming and debugging, as well as onboard buttons and LEDs for quick integration of a simple user interface.