Situational awareness for humanoid robots is more complex than that needed by standard industrial robots. Humanoids require a semantic understanding of the environment, plus the ability to recognize objects and predict future states. That takes a multi-layered, real-time awareness of their surroundings to operate safely and effectively alongside humans, including walking and grasping objects. Data […]
How to implement sensor security in connected systems
Implementing robust sensor security is essential in connected systems. Compromised sensors can feed corrupt, inaccurate data directly into operational systems, leading to devastating real-world failures, catastrophic physical damage, safety concerns, and compromised decision-making. The increasing number of sensors in modern systems and the diversity of sensor types across applications like machine learning (ML) and automation […]
What are the signal processing and interference management considerations for imaging radar?
Imaging radars include technologies like synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) technology. Key considerations include maintaining high signal-to-noise ratios (SNR), managing non-stationary clutter, compensating for platform motion, and mitigating mutual interference from other radars. The signal processing needs of imaging radar are different from basic radar, which is only designed for detecting range […]
How does 4D imaging work with radar sensors?
Four-dimensional (4D) imaging radar is a high-resolution sensing technology that adds vertical information (elevation) to traditional 3D radar (range, azimuth, Doppler). By capturing 3D spatial data plus vertical, it creates dense, high-resolution point clouds that enhance object detection in autonomous vehicles, surveillance, and industrial applications, regardless of lighting or weather. It’s also used for in-cabin […]
How is radar used for automotive in-cabin sensing?
Automotive in-cabin radar uses 60 (60 to 64 ISM band) GHz or 77 GHz mmWave sensors to monitor vehicle interiors, detecting, locating, and classifying passengers. By transmitting radio waves that reflect off surfaces, these systems can detect micro-movements like breathing and heart rates through blankets or clothing and can provide child presence detection (CPD), seatbelt […]
What is multimodal sensing in physical AI?
Multimodal sensing in physical AI (PAI), sometimes called embodied AI, is the ability for AI to fuse diverse sensory inputs, like vision, audio, touch, lidar, text, and more, from its environment to build a richer and more complete situation awareness, enabling complex physical interaction, perception, and autonomous action in the real world. A key application […]
What are the design challenges when using SPAD sensors?
Single-photon avalanche diode (SPAD) sensors are emerging on the market and are being used in automotive, medical, and industrial applications requiring extremely high sensitivity, precise timing, and 3D imaging capabilities, often in low-light conditions. Design challenges include managing dead time, suppressing noise sources like afterpulsing and dark counts, mitigating optical crosstalk, and achieving high photon […]
How does multi-sensor calibration work in autonomous vehicles?
Multi-sensor calibration of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) in autonomous vehicles ensures accurate data fusion by aligning various sensors (like cameras, LiDAR, and radar) into a unified coordinate system, enabling precise perception and localization. This article reviews the types and techniques of multi-sensor calibration of ADAS. ADAS sensor calibration uses a combination of intrinsic considerations […]
What tools are available for calibrating sensors?
Tools used for calibrating sensors range from basic multimeters and multi-product calibrators to application-specific tools, like pressure calibrators, calibration baths, and infrared blackbody calibrators, depending on the type of sensor and the measurement requirements. As sensors get more sophisticated and precise, so do the tools used to calibrate them. Sensors require calibration to deliver consistent […]
What are simple ways to improve sensor performance?
Although improving a sensor’s actual performance is not usually possible, with proper selection, system design, and integration, improving sensor performance at the system level is very possible. Tools available for sensor performance optimization include selection, placement, operation, and signal conditioning/processing. It begins by selecting a sensor with the appropriate range, resolution, sensitivity, accuracy, response time, […]
