1 System Description

The TIDEP-01010 provides a reference for creating a area scanner or safety guard application using TI’s IWR6843, based on 60-GHz mmWave radio-frequency complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (RF-CMOS) technology. Frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) radars enable accurate measurement of distances and relative velocities. Thus, radars are useful for detection of occupancy and whether an object or person has entered a space of interest.

In area scanner or light curtain safety-guard applications, where it is important to have precisely defined "keep-out" zones, the ability of radar to accurately localize detected objects can be used to implement multiple detection zones and trigger corresponding responses. A single radar deployed to equipment with a critical "keep-out" perimeter could implement a multi-stage response, so that when an object or person first approaches the perimeter, a moderate warning flag is raised. Then, if the perimeter is breached, a critical response is triggered.

With the widespread growth of factory automation, there is a greater need for smarter incident management solutions that can detect the movement of people and objects around heavy machinery while maintaining productivity. Using TI's 60-GHz mmWave sensors, both presence detection and the ability to gauge the object's trajectory and speed are enabled. Thus, a system can be created that can dynamically adjust the safety zone's size depending on the object's speed of approach, alert before a safety zone is breached while also ignoring objects whose trajectory is not towards the zone.

An important advantage of radars over camera and light-detection-and-ranging (LIDAR)-based systems is that radars are relatively immune to challenging environmental conditions common in industrial facilities such as dust and smoke. Because FMCW radars transmit a specific signal (called a chirp) and process the reflections, they can work in both complete darkness and bright daylight (radars are not affected by glare). When compared with ultrasound, radars typically have a much longer range and faster transit time for their signals.

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.

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.