Plastic body panel with 4D imagining radar

New 4D imaging radar outperforming conventional ones

This innovation takes large surface exterior body panels with conventional electronics and turns them into giant aperture antennas for a radar to achieve real time 4D imaging with unmatched resolution capabilities.

The approach, followed by Plastic Omnium and its partner Greenerwave, uses an off-the-shelf radar chipset and distributes the radar wave with low radiofrequency on metasurfaces positioned on the inner faces of the bumper. These metasurfaces act as electromagnetic mirrors that digitally control the reflexion of radar waves in front of the car. They are based on standard analog components and transferred onto printed circuit board (PCB). Wavefront shaping techniques allow objects in close proximity to be scanned; echoes are then received and analysed by the appropriate algorithms.

While competitor products propose radars with an aperture of 5-10cm maximum and a limit of angular resolution to 1-2 degrees, this patented new concept outperforms conventional radars. Its angular resolution is between 0.1 and 0.2 degrees on large fields of view. It uses less energy, has limited sensitivity to external conditions and is competitively priced.

The 4D imaging radar enhances the performance of many advanced-driver assistance systems (ADAS). Its distributed architecture coupled with high angular resolution enables several sensors to be replaced by just one sensor. The joint design of body panels and radar means algorithms are adapted to bumper shape evolution for optimal performance.

This is more than just a new radar – it’s a functionalised body panel with 4D imaging.