Abstract

Robots operating alongside humans in structured environments, such as factory floors, fulfillment centers, and hospitals, as well as unstructured environments like outdoor delivery, face sensing challenges that cameras, LiDAR, and Time-of-Flight (ToF) sensors alone cannot solve. mmWave radar provides a complementary, lighting-independent detection layer with native velocity measurement, transparent-surface detection, and functional safety certification options that no other modality offers.

Every active sensor measures the world by emitting energy and timing the return. What differentiates sensor modalities is which physical property of that return that each type measures and how that property behaves across real operating conditions. Radar transmits radio-frequency energy, which reflects from surfaces regardless of ambient lighting and penetrates dust, steam, and airborne particulates that scatter or block optical wavelengths. Unlike cameras and LiDAR, radar reflects strongly from human tissue through clothing and detects glass and specular surfaces that are transparent or ambiguous to optical sensors. These properties are not edge-case advantages; in industrial, fulfillment, and healthcare environments, these properties are baseline requirements.