Cohda Wireless builds new sensor for driverless cars
Global connected car technology maker, Cohda Wireless, has unveiled a new 360-degree sensor for driverless cars that complements and enhances traditional sensors. According to the company, this allows driverless cars to ‘see’ around corners.
Named V2X-Radar, it is a 360-degree radar for driverless cars. This vehicle to everything (V2X) technology enables connected cars to interact vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) or vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I).
Cohda Wireless CEO, Dr Paul Gray, said the V2X-Radar provides a new sensor for driverless cars, a 360-degree radar that can detect buildings, road signs and even older vehicles not equipped with car-to-car communications.
It also is unaffected by rain, snow or fog, and can ‘see’ around corners. V2X-Radar can be used with both driven and driverless vehicles.
Gray claimed V2X-Radar is a disruptive technology.
“It’s a low-cost addition to a standard V2X system that adds radar functionality to the V2X connected car,” he said.
“V2X systems are essential for driverless cars, extending their view of the world beyond that of traditional sensors. V2X-Radar pushes this even further, allowing driverless cars to sense the environment in ways not previously imagined.”
V2X-Radar uses the IEEE 802.11 compliant wireless signals of current V2X systems to share sensor information between vehicles and infrastructure. These radio signals bounce off many surfaces – walls, road signs and other vehicles – as they travel from transmitter to receiver.
In combination with a 3D map, V2X-Radar can provide positioning and also instantly detect vehicle speeds via Doppler measurements and obtain 360-degree sensing from a single antenna. As such, Dr Gray said V2X-Radar is an important new sensor for autonomous vehicles.
He also said V2X-Radar solved the ‘chicken-or-egg problem’ of delivering value for drivers in the early days when only a few connected cars were on the road.
“The challenge of deploying V2X is providing clear benefits for early adopters. Cohda Wireless developed V2X-Radar to solve this problem. V2X-Radar uses standard V2X radio signals to sense the surrounding environment, transforming a standard V2X communications system into a 360-degree car radar.”
Compatible with both US and European standards, the V2X-Radar software needs to be fitted only in the receiving vehicle. V2X-Radar already works with the NXP Roadlink chipset.
