Periodic Reporting for period 2 - ELIRAD (Everyday Life Radar Sensors For Transportation)
Berichtszeitraum: 2017-02-01 bis 2018-07-31
The ELIRAD project is driven by the vision of a high-resolution millimeter wave sensor for distance and speed measurements as miniaturized, highly integrated as possible.
Silicon Radars sensor will be the world-wide first on the market realizing following features:
- available to all requesting transportation customers and other applications
- at real low cost
- with real low power consumption property
- miniaturized light-weight radar-sensor
- providing excellent measurement accuracy
Problem: Existing radar technology was made in accordance to the requirements of the automotive and Aviation industry where power consumption and weight is not extremely critical. Only completely new approaches
of integration of radar functionality into one silicon-based chip make it realistic to provide a low-cost solution for the advanced requirements of small unmanned autonomous systems like drones and
transportation robots. The mm-wavelengths at 120GHz (free to use ISM-frequency-band) allow μm-size antennas which enable miniaturized wireless sensor systems with the size and form factor of an IC package.
Silicon Radars 120GHz radar sensor is the world’s first commercially available radar front end working in this promising ISM band.
Silicon Radar sees a huge market potential while a large number of emerging applications sums up to the total market for Silicon Radars radar sensor. Silicon Radar aims to win a significant part of this total market. Because of that a short time to market has to be realized.
ELIRAD targets a broad variety of applications.
Extracted from the results already achieved during SUCCESS and subsequent contacts with customers the key market applications, that differentiates the radar sensor project and provides the highest added value for potential customers are:
- Civil use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV´s)
- Goods and medicament delivery also in indoor mode
- Flying goods delivery at missing infrastructures after natural disasters
- Emergency medical service drones (transport of defibrillators, safety buoys) also in indoor mode
- Disaster observation (after earthquakes, nuclear disasters) also in indoor mode
- Autonomous transportation systems (hospitals and logistic storage areas)
- Heavy vehicles and special vehicles of agriculture (monitoring of supply for harvesters, 360° security systems for tooled construction machines)
- Gesture based human-machine-interfaces in cars
- Parking systems and municipal parking space management
- Road and car park infrastructure for vehicle-to-infrastructure systems
- Monitoring of number, position and life signs of car passengers within passenger compartment
- Industrial robots (production and factory automation)
- Domestic service robots (autonomous vacuum cleaners and mover robots)
Silicon Radars sensor will be the world-wide first on the market realizing following features:
- available to all requesting transportation customers and other applications
- at real low cost
- with real low power consumption property
- miniaturized light-weight radar-sensor
- providing excellent measurement accuracy
Problem: Existing radar technology was made in accordance to the requirements of the automotive and Aviation industry where power consumption and weight is not extremely critical. Only completely new approaches
of integration of radar functionality into one silicon-based chip make it realistic to provide a low-cost solution for the advanced requirements of small unmanned autonomous systems like drones and
transportation robots. The mm-wavelengths at 120GHz (free to use ISM-frequency-band) allow μm-size antennas which enable miniaturized wireless sensor systems with the size and form factor of an IC package.
Silicon Radars 120GHz radar sensor is the world’s first commercially available radar front end working in this promising ISM band.
Silicon Radar sees a huge market potential while a large number of emerging applications sums up to the total market for Silicon Radars radar sensor. Silicon Radar aims to win a significant part of this total market. Because of that a short time to market has to be realized.
ELIRAD targets a broad variety of applications.
Extracted from the results already achieved during SUCCESS and subsequent contacts with customers the key market applications, that differentiates the radar sensor project and provides the highest added value for potential customers are:
- Civil use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV´s)
- Goods and medicament delivery also in indoor mode
- Flying goods delivery at missing infrastructures after natural disasters
- Emergency medical service drones (transport of defibrillators, safety buoys) also in indoor mode
- Disaster observation (after earthquakes, nuclear disasters) also in indoor mode
- Autonomous transportation systems (hospitals and logistic storage areas)
- Heavy vehicles and special vehicles of agriculture (monitoring of supply for harvesters, 360° security systems for tooled construction machines)
- Gesture based human-machine-interfaces in cars
- Parking systems and municipal parking space management
- Road and car park infrastructure for vehicle-to-infrastructure systems
- Monitoring of number, position and life signs of car passengers within passenger compartment
- Industrial robots (production and factory automation)
- Domestic service robots (autonomous vacuum cleaners and mover robots)
WP1 Project coordination and financial management
This work package deals with all the management aspects of the project and the monitoring of progress towards the ultimate objectives, identifying shortcomings and recommending remedial action where necessary.
WP2 Chip Design and initial batch manufacturing
RS1 Chip
The chips of the Engineering run are used for package development and test development and chip qualification.
First small batches, packaged and tested, showed already yields > 90%, which is a very good result for such new and complex chip and package application.
After the package- and test development were finished, the qualification of the chip and package has been started.
RS2 Chip
First samples of RS2 chip have been manufactured using several Multi-Project-Waver-Runs (MPW). Those samples have been used to develop the packaging concept of the IC.
WP3 Development Assembly Process
RS1 in package
The development of assembly process is finished.
All processes are frozen, the process documentation and quality control is defined and released.
A first batch is manufactured for final qualification and the qualification has been started.
RS2 in package
The development of assembly process is ongoing.
The first step to evaluate the package type is done, standard QFN32, 5x5 mm² is defined and evaluated. A comparison of used standard molding components was done at 2 different package suppliers.
WP4 Development Serial Test Place
RS1
The serial test is specified and developed.
After the test system was qualified successfully, the test system is in use for testing the qualification batches.
WP5 Radar Sensor Module Design
RS1
A first sensor module for the RS1 sensor evaluation was specified and the hardware (PCB) manufactured and assembled. The software to demonstrate the functionality of RS1 is developed as well.
Silicon Radar was able to use this kind of sensor module to show the possible functionality of the radar IC (RS1) to interested customers and to use it as demonstrator at exploitation actions like conferences and exhibitions.
Two variants of the second generation of radar sensor were developed – the so called Easy Radar and Simple Radar modules.
WP6 Exploiation and Dissemination
The development performed in the frame of project ELIRAD motivated an important step to launch the product class at 120GHz with the first two variants RS1 and RS2. However, development work will have to answer new emerging market demands. It requires a continued market research and development based on the existing solution.
This work package deals with all the management aspects of the project and the monitoring of progress towards the ultimate objectives, identifying shortcomings and recommending remedial action where necessary.
WP2 Chip Design and initial batch manufacturing
RS1 Chip
The chips of the Engineering run are used for package development and test development and chip qualification.
First small batches, packaged and tested, showed already yields > 90%, which is a very good result for such new and complex chip and package application.
After the package- and test development were finished, the qualification of the chip and package has been started.
RS2 Chip
First samples of RS2 chip have been manufactured using several Multi-Project-Waver-Runs (MPW). Those samples have been used to develop the packaging concept of the IC.
WP3 Development Assembly Process
RS1 in package
The development of assembly process is finished.
All processes are frozen, the process documentation and quality control is defined and released.
A first batch is manufactured for final qualification and the qualification has been started.
RS2 in package
The development of assembly process is ongoing.
The first step to evaluate the package type is done, standard QFN32, 5x5 mm² is defined and evaluated. A comparison of used standard molding components was done at 2 different package suppliers.
WP4 Development Serial Test Place
RS1
The serial test is specified and developed.
After the test system was qualified successfully, the test system is in use for testing the qualification batches.
WP5 Radar Sensor Module Design
RS1
A first sensor module for the RS1 sensor evaluation was specified and the hardware (PCB) manufactured and assembled. The software to demonstrate the functionality of RS1 is developed as well.
Silicon Radar was able to use this kind of sensor module to show the possible functionality of the radar IC (RS1) to interested customers and to use it as demonstrator at exploitation actions like conferences and exhibitions.
Two variants of the second generation of radar sensor were developed – the so called Easy Radar and Simple Radar modules.
WP6 Exploiation and Dissemination
The development performed in the frame of project ELIRAD motivated an important step to launch the product class at 120GHz with the first two variants RS1 and RS2. However, development work will have to answer new emerging market demands. It requires a continued market research and development based on the existing solution.
Key features of the future miniaturized radar sensor module:
- Dimensions of 30mm x 30mm x 20 mm implementing the whole radar system (incl. microprocessor for baseband signal processing)
- Embedded radar system enabling FMCW and CW mode for high accuracy distance and velocity measurements
- Provision of well documented SDK supporting the design-in projects of customers
- Dimensions of 30mm x 30mm x 20 mm implementing the whole radar system (incl. microprocessor for baseband signal processing)
- Embedded radar system enabling FMCW and CW mode for high accuracy distance and velocity measurements
- Provision of well documented SDK supporting the design-in projects of customers