Compact radar takes an inside view

The Fraunhofer-Institut für Angewandte Festkörperphysik developed an experimental compact W-band radar, operating at frequencies between 70 and 100 GHz, with an average power of 10 mW and an instrumented range of 3 km. This modular millimeter-wave sensor is designed to penetrate non-metallic, non-transparent dielectric materials such as wood, paper, plastic, clothing, snow, and fog, making it suitable for applications where optical sensors are ineffective due to obscured visibility or high temperatures. Unlike existing ceramic-substrate radar systems, this gallium arsenide semiconductor-based system is compact (cigarette box-sized), cost-effective, energy-efficient, and offers higher resolution, with a prototype first presented at Hannover Messe in 2012. Its capabilities include precise height and distance measurement for helicopter landing support in whiteout conditions, monitoring large surfaces like container ports in fog, and functioning as a filling level sensor in dusty environments like flour silos, with future developments aiming for multi-channel object detection including exact position.

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