NXP advances automotive radar solution with new development kit

By Gina Roos, editor-in-chief

NXP Semiconductors N.V., in partnership with Colorado Engineering, has developed a new automotive radar solution that combines NXP’s S32R processors, RF transceiver, and antenna design on a new reference platform. With an ecosystem of tools, the new radar solution is set to accelerate the deployment of radar into production vehicles as well as lower the cost of development.

A big driver behind the platform development is the move to radar technology spurred by emerging safety requirements, including for autonomous vehicles. As these safety features move into mainstream production, there also comes a need for a faster time to market.

NXP developed the radar solution to help accelerate time to market, delivering all the necessary hardware, software, and tools for radar implementation. These include NXP’s S32R27 processor, TEF810x CMOS transceiver, and the FS8410 power management IC.

The result of NXP’s collaboration with Colorado Engineering is the RDK-S32R274 radar solution for rapid prototyping of automotive radar. In addition to NXP’s devices, the development platform includes a radar software development kit and expansion and antenna modules that can be optimized per customer application requirements.

NXP’s S32R processors, the S32R27 and S32R37, offer 10× performance/watt improvement compared with a traditional DSP by integrating highly efficient radar accelerators, said NXP. “This enables longer range, higher resolution, and accuracy for safety-critical applications such as collision avoidance, lane change assist, and autonomous emergency braking.”

The “automotive-grade” radar software development kit gives customers access to a radar algorithm library, eliminating the need for customers to invest resources to hand-tune accelerator software, said NXP. The ecosystem includes compilers, development environments, MCALS, and both free and commercial RTOS support for faster development.

The S32R27 and S32R37 are available now. The RDK-S32R274 can be pre-ordered and will start shipping by the end of November.