Episode 1: Autonomous Radar Sensor
- Posted by Griffin Adams
- On September 20, 2022
What is better than 2.45 GHz? It's 60 GHz of course!
Autonomous Radar Sensor:
Millimeter wavelength Doppler radar has the spatial resolution to detect changes in finger positions, and hence useful for gesture recognition. The offerings from device manufacturers are getting smarter and friendlier to use, often making the antennas built-in (antenna-in-package, AIP). Designers can place mmWave devices behind bezels with no loss in signal. And inexpensive too!
Image attributed to Google Project Soli.
Applications for such device:
- High precision distance measurements with mm accuracy and high update rate
- Ultra-low power consumption, e.g. average power consumption 0.2 mW at 0.1 Hz update rate, 3 mW at 10 Hz update rate and 20 mW at 100 Hz update rate
- Proximity detection with high accuracy and the possibility to define multiple proximity zones
- Motion detection, Speed detection
- Enables material detection
- High precision object tracking, enabling gesture control
- High precision tracking of 3D objects
- Monitor vital life signs such as breathing and pulse rate
Our guy, Griffin Adams, regularly tells our team about novel electronic devices he’s uncovered, and we are sharing them with you too. Griffin is a Senior Electrical Engineer at Engenious Design where he designs parts for space launch vehicles and medical devices that make the world a better place.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR(S)
Griffin Adams
Griffin has almost a decade of experience with electronics design and assembly, test and troubleshooting, and embedded software. His combination of Electronics Technology degree and Engineering Physics degree gives him a unique perspective on product design. His motto to never stop learning drives him to stay informed of technology, trends, and advancements not only in electrical engineering but also in related fields of physics and bioengineering. Griffin has designed PCB’s for consumer electronics that include digital signal processors and DDR memory, and medical devices that need rigid-flex PCBs capable of folding into a handheld device.
