SLUUDO3 October   2026 AWRL6888

 

  1.   Abstract
  2.   2
  3.   Trademarks
  4. 1Introduction
  5. 2Software Quickstart Guide
  6. 3Software Evaluation Flow
    1. 3.1 About Radar Evaluation
    2. 3.2 More Resources

3.1 About Radar Evaluation

There are three major components to TI's radar demonstrations. These are the chirp configurations, device binary, and visualizer. A general evaluation workflow is as follows:

xWRL6888 AWRL6888 Three Steps for Evaluation Figure 3-1 Three Steps for Evaluation

Chirp Configuration

Fundamentally, mmWave FMCW radars transmit pulses called chirps, which after reflected off of a target, can be used to determine the range, velocity, and azimuth of the target.

xWRL6888 AWRL6888 Configuration Diagram Figure 3-2 Configuration Diagram

By tuning the physical characteristics (such as frequency slope and number of chirps), the range, resolution, and power consumption of radar can be optimized. TI mmWave radar devices store chirp characteristics in Chirp Configuration files. The chirp configuration file can also contain parameters for algorithmic and application-specific modifications. Chirp configurations are uploaded to the device over a UART at runtime, allowing for chirp and demo modifications without needing to re-flash the device with a new binary.

Application Binary

Raw data from these reflected chirps are processed on-device by a signal chain on the application binary. This firmware is flashed onto the device and processes raw radar data into real-time position and velocity information. Application-specific binaries targeted for specific applications, such as child presence detection, can be found in the Radar Toolbox in the TI Resource Explorer. Once processed, the device begins sending this real-time position and velocity information in the TLV format over UART to the user's computer to be visualized.

Visualizers

Visually verifying the output of radar in real-time is useful for evaluation. Visualizers can take the UART output of the EVM and render the point cloud and classification information in 3D space. A general-purpose visualizer is found in the MMWAVE-L-SDK and an application-specific visualizer can be found in the Radar Toolbox.