Chinese automaker SAIC will use ZF’s new 4-D full-range radar in an SUV starting in 2022. It perceives the vehicle environment in four dimensions, including height.
4-D full-range radar for electric SUVs by SAIC
ZF
With an aperture angle of +/- 60°, ZF’s 4-D full-range radar is designed for city traffic, rural roads and highways. In addition to a range of 350 m, it offers high resolution in the four dimensions of distance, speed, horizontal angle (azimuth), and height (elevation angle). The 4-D detection of the traffic situation thus enables, for example, early detection of the end of a traffic jam under a bridge and appropriate braking. The edge of the road can also be detected.
Compared to a mid-range radar, the new technology offers a combination of several MMIC (Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuit) chips, so that a total of 192 instead of 12 channels are available. The detailed object detection enables, for example, the acquisition of around ten data points from a pedestrian and can even resolve the movement of individual limbs and thus detect the direction of movement.
ZF 4-D full-range radar to be launched in 2022
ZF will produce the radar sensors in China starting in 2022 and supply them to SAIC for the R-series electric SUVs. “With its high object and scene detection and long range, full-range radar is an important key technology that meets the demanding requirements of Level 3 and Level 4 automated driving at a competitive price point,” said Christophe Marnat, head of ZF’s Electronics and ADAS Division.