CES: NXP adds to auto radar processors

Author: EIS Release Date: Jan 12, 2022

NXP put its 16nm imaging radar processor, the NXP S32R45, into mass production, with initial customer ramp-up starting in the first half 2022.

 

Additionally, the new NXP S32R41 has been introduced to extend 4D imaging radar’s benefits to a much larger number of vehicles.

 

Together these processors serve the L2+ through L5 autonomy sectors, enabling 4D imaging radar for 360-degree surround sensing.

 

NXP’s 4D imaging radar delivers concurrent 3-in-1 multi-mode radar sensing across short-, mid- and long-range operation, enabling the simultaneous sensing of a  wide field of view around the car.

 

To achieve this, NXP leverages an innovative architecture to boost performance beyond raw sensor hardware capabilities with a low-complexity sensor configuration utilizing 192 virtual antenna channels.

 

The boost is enabled by the combination of proprietary radar hardware acceleration which can deliver up to 64x the compute performance of standard processors, super-resolution radar software algorithms to achieve sub-degree angular resolution and advanced MIMO waveforms that allow simultaneous operation of antenna channels.

 

This architecture also helps overcome the limitations of other high-resolution sensors like LIDAR and high antenna count massive MIMO radar, whose cost and complexity limit their applications to a narrow set of use

 

The introduction of the S32R41 delivers a 16nm radar processor tailored for L2+ autonomous driving applications.

 

The L2+ segment, which was not well served by classical high-resolution sensors, will now benefit from 4D imaging radar sensing with up to six corner, front and rear radar sensors in 360-degree surround fashion.

 

The S32R45 radar processor is the flagship of NXP’s 6th generation automotive radar chipset family. It helps to enable increasingly autonomous driving, from L2+ through the most demanding L5 use cases, where more than ten imaging radar sensors per vehicle may be required.

 

It also addresses transportation, traffic management and other industrial applications where  high-resolution sensing is required.

 

The combination of NXP’s S32R45 and S32R41 radar processors with the NXP TEF82xx RFCMOS transceivers delivers the fine angular resolution, processing power and range required for production-ready imaging radar solutions.

 

The S32R platform offers a common architecture for software reuse and speedy development along with a highly performant hardware security engine, OTA update support and compliance with the newest cybersecurity standards.