Start development with our industrial mmWave radar sensors
Our design and development ecosystem can help simplify your design process. Explore design options and find resources for industrial mmWave radar sensors to help make it easier for you to get to market.
Investigate & find the right device
Whether you already know your specific performance requirements or are still investigating, we can help find the best device for your application. To learn more about typical mmWave applications, explore our applications-specific resources.
We provide reference antenna designs and hardware platforms for you to review and select so that you can start your evaluation and development. You will use key information such as field-of-view, range and resolution to make your selection.
I know my sensing requirements and antenna specifications
Find best-matched antenna and corresponding hardware platform from our extensive database in TI Resource Explorer.
I need to determine the antenna specifications for my target application
Begin by reviewing our reference designs and TIREX Industrial Toolbox Experiments and Labs.
If a deeper technical analysis is needed, use our online mmWave Sensing Estimator tool to determine the resulting parameters to help identify the best matched antenna and hardware platform in our TIREX Antenna Database.
Easily explore mmWave technology and foundational concepts
Evaluation
Once suitable hardware platforms are identified, use the below information to determine which of our offerings best fit your needs and finalize your selection of tools. We provide evaluation software and tools that span from application-level demos in the TI Resource Explorer to tools enabling raw data collection and algorithm development on a PC. These can be used as the basis for your evaluation and to also support your development efforts.
Learn more
Hardware
| Part | Description |
|---|---|
| Evaluation modules (EVMs) | Our assembled circuit board supporting standard software development and radio frequency (RF) performance evaluation of our IWR mmWave radar sensors. |
| Real-time capture card | The DCA1000EVM provides real-time, radar ADC data capture and streaming for 2- and 4-lane LVDS datastreams from mmWave EVMs. |
| mmWave carrier card | The MMWAVEICBOOST carrier card expands capabilities of select mmWave EVMs such as trace and single step via Code Composer Studio™ (CCS) IDE's compatible debuggers. |
| These modules are easy-to-use evaluation boards for single-chip mmWave sensing devices with direct connectivity to our LaunchPad™ development kits. |
Software
| Part | Description |
|---|---|
| mmWave SDK | Our extensive software development kit (SDK) enables rapid prototyping of customized applications on EVMs. This software includes TI RTOS, full-peripheral drivers, sensors APIs and hardware accelerator and DSP libraries. The software is supported by CCS IDE and UniFlash. |
| mmWave Studio software | The mmWave Studio software includes easy-to-use, web-based tools to enhance evaluation of our mmWave radar sensors. mmWave Studio software provides capabilities to prototype and evaluate chirp designs via experimentation with out-of-box demos. |
| Industrial mmWave toolbox | The Industrial mmWave tool box allows you to reference software labs, experiment data and chirp designs to accelerate prototyping and development. Each package provides source code, test methodology, and instruction to replicate results. |
| mmWave Sensing Estimator | The mmWave sensing estimator provides you the first step in designing mmWave sensor-based systems. It calculates a chirp configuration for RF transmission using basic system parameters such as min and max range and velocity along with frame rate. |
Reference designs
Proven mmWave radar system design that includes both hardware and software to provide a total solution.
Step 1 of evaluation: assess mmWave platform compatibility
This table helps you identify the compatibility between TI’s evaluation and development tools for mmWave radar sensors.
| mmWave evaluation & development platform overview and compatibility | mmWave antenna & sensor hardware | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
IWR6843AOPEVM | IWR6843ISK | IWR6843ISK-ODS | IWR1843BOOST | IWR1642BOOST | IWR1443BOOST | |||
| Antenna | Field of view (FOV) | Azimuth (degrees) | ±60 | ±60 | ±60 | ±60 | ±60 | ±60 | ±60 |
| Elevation (degrees) | ±40 | ±60 | ±20 | ±60 | ±15 | ±15 | ±15 | ||
| Angular resolution | Azimuth (degrees) | 29 | 29 | 20 | 29 | 15 | 15 | 15 | |
| Elevation (degrees) | 58 | 29 | 58 | 29 | 60 | ||||
| Maximum distance | Car (meters) | 87 | 175 | 199 | 199 | 120 | |||
| Person (meters) | 35 | 49 | 98 | 37 | 37 | 47 | |||
| Hardware compatibility | MMWAVEICBOOST carrier | Yes | No | ||||||
| DCA1000 capture | |||||||||
| LaunchPad™ development kit | |||||||||
| Software compatibility | mmWave SDK | ||||||||
| mmWave Studio software | |||||||||
| Industrial mmWave toolbox | |||||||||
| mmWave sensing estimator | |||||||||
| System solutions | Reference design | ||||||||
Step 2 of evaluation: set up & run demos
After receiving your hardware, learn how to set up and run the applicable use case demonstrations on your platform using industrial toolbox demos and user's guides.
To learn more about your hardware, refer to the individual user’s guide of your selected EVM to get more understanding on the evaluation hardware and setup adjustments.
| Evaluation module | User's guides |
|---|---|
| 60-GHz mmWave sensor EVMs (IWRL6432BOOST, IWR6843AOPEVM, IWR6843ISK, IWR6843ISK-ODS) | |
| 77-GHz mmWave sensor EVMs (IWR1843BOOST, IWR1642BOOST, IWR1443BOOST) |
Development
Simplify your development tasks, and accelerate your time-to-market with our proven hardware, software tools, along with many examples we provide in our toolbox. Everything you need to move forward to production is at your fingertips. We are here to help you navigate the mmWave radar development process by offering you key supporting information for each of these phases.
In-house development
The following is organized by high-level phases of development and provides key references needed based on the customer’s direction. At the high-level of mmWave radar design, the below begins with software and is followed by hardware. The information is organized to support customers wanting to re-use our references as is and to customize their designs to meet specific product requirements.
System-software tuning & development
Quickly find software to copy directly as is or find useful sources and references to support your own software development or modifications of our software examples.
Tune or modify TI's example radar applications
For customers wanting to slightly adjust the operation of an example software application to account for a different environments, use the below references to find a software example and understand what parameters to change to achieve your target results. The below is meant to support application software development.
| Software sources | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Reference designs | Find proven industrial mmWave radar system designs | Reference designs |
| End equipment examples | Start with specific end equipment example application software | Industrial toolbox labs |
| Experiments | Consider software used in a variety of experiments | Industrial toolbox experiments |
| References | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Guide | Use ‘Configuration (.cfg) File Format’ section to understand parameters | SDK User's Guide under "Getting Started" chapter |
| HTML-based document | Learn about our mmWave SDK by browsing and reading its extensive documentation | See mmWave SDK install directory under \docs\mmwave_sdk_module_documentation.html |
| Guide | Detection layer tuning guide for 3D people counting | Detection layer parameter tuning guide |
| Guide | Group tracker tuning guide for 3D people counting | Group tracker parameter tuning guide |
Change radar data output format or interface
For customers needing to change the output data interface or format implemented in their selected reference software, use these resources to understand the existing structure and to help determine areas to modify for your system. The tables below are meant to support software development at a platform level.
| Software sources | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Software development kit (SDK) | Refer to this software foundation for use or changes to desired peripheral interface. | mmWave SDK |
| References | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Guide | Selected Lab User's Guide or SDK User's Guide for out-of-box demos | |
| Guide | Use software or driver documentation for alternate communication peripherals | SDK user's guide in "TI components" section under "MMWAVE SDK deep dive" chapter |
| HTML-based document | Learn about our mmWave SDK by reading its extensive documentation once installed | See mmWave SDK install directory under \docs\mmwave_sdk_module_documentation.html |
Modify radar processing in TI's PC visualizer application
For customers changing OFF-chip processing of the radar data in the selected software or in their specific system, use these resources to understand the tools and related information to change, capture and visualize data for the intended operation. The tables below are meant to support host processing and algorithm development.
| Tools | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Visualizers | Use corresponding visualizer associated with selected reference software for iterating and analyzing potential changes | mmWave Demo Visualizer or specific visualizer associated with selected Lab |
| References | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Guide | Find implementation details of the out-of-box visualizer corresponding with the SDK demos | mmWave Demo Visualizer User's Guide |
| Guide | Understand the detailed implementation of the visualizer corresponding with the selected reference software | Developers or Customization Guide in selected lab |
Modify on-chip radar configurations and algorithms
For customers changing ON-chip processing of the radar data in the selected software or in their specific system, use these resources to understand the tools and related information to change, capture and analyze data for the intended operation. The tables below are needed to support embedded mmWave radar sensing algorithm development.
| Tools | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Online estimator | Enables rapid prototyping by using real-time feedback based on scene parameters and mmWave radar chirp configurations | mmWave sensing estimator |
| Capture card | Rely on DCA1000 real-time capture card to record raw radar ADC data from mmWave sensor hardware | DCA1000EVM data capture adapter |
| Deep analysis and development | Download and use these software tools with DCA1000 to support deep analysis and signal processing development | mmWave studio software |
| References | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Application note | Learn how to select the correct chirp parameters based on the intended use case | Programming Chirp Parameters |
| Application note | Discover how to interpret raw radar ADC data captured by DCA1000 and mmWave studio tools | mmWave Raw ADC Data Capture |
| Training | Learn how to use the DCA1000 capture card along with the associated mmWave studio tools | DCA1000 training video |
| Training | Learn the detailed architecture and operation of the mmWave radar sensor SDK | mmWave training- SDK Deep Dive |
Hardware design & manufacturing
Quickly find existing designs to copy directly as is or find useful information and references for your own hardware design, gain a better understanding of manufacturing and related tradeoffs and discover our support.
Use our hardware reference material as provided
For customers using our tools and not changing anything related to the RF characteristics, simply download and use the information corresponding with a selected reference as the basis for your hardware design.
| References | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| EVMs | Find mmWave radar sensor board files | IWR6843AOPEVM design files |
| Reference designs | Discover mmWave radar system solutions | Industrial mmWave references |
Modify our reference material for different performance and specifications
For customers changing RF characteristics of a selected hardware reference due to modifications of the PCB stack-up and antenna design, begin with our material and use the following information and tools to guide hardware development.
| Tools | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Database | Find existing antenna designs and sources | TIREX antenna database |
| Online calculator | Use scene parameters to find optimal chirp configuration | mmWave sensing estimator |
| Device models | Find simulation model(s) for selected device | IWR6843 models |
| References | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Guide | Design, manufacturing and validation guide | |
| Design checklist | Find detailed hardware design information and guidelines | Hardware design checklist |
| Application note | Acquire critical knowledge about Radome design, test and qualification | mmWave radar radome design guide |
| Application note | Improve angle resolution using multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) radar | MIMO radar application note |
| Application note | Understand chirp configuration impact in FMCW radar systems | Programming chip parameters in radar devices |
| Application note | Determine the best placement of the radar for optimal performance | Best practices for placement and angle of mmWave radar devices |
Find additional ideas and support
Consider these options for further optimization and support.
| References | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Application note | Learn power optimization methods | Power management optimizations application note |
| Design review | Submit your design files for our mmWave design review | mmWave design review |
Third-party development
Third-party companies provide radar expertise in hardware and software including production ready turn-key solutions, radio frequency (RF) hardware and antenna design, radar algorithms, embedded software development and more. Find the right partner to address your design needs.
Production
At this stage, your embedded software is operating on your hardware and iterative efforts are being made to comply with applicable regulations and finalize production test plans. Become familiar with the required tests and mitigation methods to improve your complete mmWave radar system in order to meet performance, quality and certification levels as you progress through system integration and into mass production.
Prepare for the production phase
For customers preparing for or entering into a production phase, use this information to understand the general requirements for basic performance validation and different options for test setups.
| References | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Application note | Learn the basics for production testing of mmWave radar systems | Production testing overview application report |
Pursuing regulatory compliance
For customers pursuing regulatory compliance, use this information to understand TI’s recommendations for meeting key standards.
| References | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Application note | Understand requirements to comply with regulatory standards for mmWave radar systems such as RED and FCC | Device regulatory compliance guide |
| Database | Explore past certification results for relevant EVMs | Certification results |
Address common challenges
Gain more insight and ideas for addressing common challenges related to mmWave radar systems.
| Tools | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Utility | Useful tool to optimize memory associated with radar signal processing | Radar memory compression model |
| TI E2E™ support forums | Receive fast and reliable technical support from our engineers throughout every step of your design. | Sensor E2E forum |
| References | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Application note | Learn how to avoid or mitigate interference between different radar systems. | Interference mitigation |