1.1.2 mmWave Sensor

The IWR6843 device is an integrated single-chip mmWave sensor based on FMCW radar technology capable of operation in the 60- to 64-GHz band. The device is built with a Texas Instruments (TI) low-power 45-nm RFCMOS process to integrate analog RF as well as digital processing in a single chip. Furthermore, the IWR6843AOP variant features a short-range, wide field of view antenna-on-package (AOP), achieving unprecedented levels of integration in an extremely small form factor.

TI mmWave AOP sensors enable a wide variety of robotic applications, such as logistic robots, delivery robots, robotic arms etc. where autonomous robot makers must implement a high level of environmental sensing and redundancy into robot systems to quickly detect and prevent possible collisions, using 3D sensing capabilities to define safe and danger zones.

The AoP sensor design addresses three main challenges for robotics or factory automation:

• Wide 3D coverage with a single sensor: The AoP antenna’s wide FoV configuration provides a 130-degree view in the azimuth and elevation, which provides true 3D sensing enabling detection of the object height and filtering out ground clutter. This maximizes a sensor’s accuracy and measurement performance. The wide azimuth area coverage reduces the number of sensors used for area scanning and hence reduces overall system cost.
• Small form factor: The smaller form factor of AoP sensors means that they can fit into smaller enclosures, which is important for sleek, small autonomous robot designs such as autonomous guided vehicles, delivery robots, and smaller robotic arms in factories for sense-and-avoid applications.
• Fast time to market: By eliminating expensive PCB substrates and RF expertise, AoP sensors simplify the design and manufacturing process, enabling in-house designs and reducing time to market.

The IWR6843 is an ideal solution for low-power, self-monitored, and accurate radar systems in industrial applications (such as, building automation, factory automation, drones, material handling, traffic monitoring, and surveillance).

Key features of IWR6843:

• FMCW transceiver:
  • Integrated PLL, transmitter, receiver, baseband, and A2D
  • 60- to 64-GHz coverage with 4-GHz continuous bandwidth
  • Four receive channels
  • Three transmit channels
  • Option for integration of 4 receiver and 3 transmitter antenna-on-package (AOP)
  • Ultra-accurate chirp engine based on Fractional-N PLL
  • TX power: 10 dBm
  • RX noise figure: 14 dB
  • Phase noise at 1 MHz: -92 dBc/Hz
• Built-in calibration and self-test:
  • Arm® Cortex®-R4F-Based Radio Control System (RCS)
  • Built-in firmware (ROM)
  • Self-calibrating system across frequency and temperature
• On-Chip programmable core for embedded-user application:
  • Integrated Arm® Cortex®-R4F Microcontroller clocked at 200 MHz
  • On-Chip Bootloader supports Autonomous mode (Loading User application from QSPI Flash memory)
• Integrated peripherals:
  • Internal Memories With ECC
  • ARM-R4F microcontroller for object detection, and interface control
    • Supports autonomous mode (loading user application from QSPI flash memory)
  • Radar Hardware Accelerator (FFT, Filtering, and CFAR processing)
  • C674x DSP for advanced signal processing (IWR6843 or IWR6843 AOP only)
  • I²C
  • Two SPI ports
  • CAN-FD interface
  • Up to six general-purpose ADC ports