Collision Avoidance
Advanced MIMO radar systems for precise collision avoidance
With over 35 years of radar design experience, Plextek has delivered cutting-edge radar systems across automotive, aerospace, and industrial applications. Our custom Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) radar solutions provide the precise range, velocity, and angular measurements needed for reliable real-time collision detection in the most demanding environments.
With collisions causing devastating loss of life, serious injuries, and billions in economic costs annually, Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems (ADAS) play a vital role in preventing accidents by detecting dangers and initiating emergency braking. Unfortunately, they are not perfect and sometimes stop unnecessarily or they can fail to detect hazards, creating safety risks and reducing driver confidence in autonomous systems.
Our extensive radar development experience positions Plextek to address the critical challenge of collision avoidance. Some of Plextek’s radars are based on mechanically scanning a narrow beam across a scene while others involve simultaneously using multiple antennas to calculate angular position.
MIMO radar designs, especially in the mmWave frequency range, produce systems with improved angular discrimination capabilities in both azimuth and elevation angles. Combined with the standard radar capability to measure range and velocity this has produced radars capable of improved situational awareness.
Why collision avoidance matters
High-performance MIMO design are ideally suited as collision avoidance radars since they provide accurate angular and range information to hazards. The direct measurement of velocity via Doppler then allows time-to-collision calculations without computationally intensive processing. Since they can provide elevation as well as azimuth information, they have 3D awareness and can also be used for airborne applications.
Every sensor has advantages and disadvantages, but radar is ideally suited for efficiently measuring time to collision across a range of adverse environmental conditions
Dr Damien Clarke
Head of Data Science
What sets Plextek apart
Unlike standard radar suppliers, we can provide end-to-end collision avoidance solutions from concept to volume manufacturing.
Our unique combination of RF engineering expertise, advanced signal processing algorithms, and embedded systems integration delivers:
- Custom antenna designs optimized for your specific detection requirements
- Proprietary MIMO processing algorithms for superior angular discrimination
- Real-time embedded processing reducing system response times
- Proven track record across automotive, aerospace, and industrial markets
Talk to the experts
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Radar sensing to enable safe flight of crewless aircraft, and autonomous uncrewed aerial vehicles.
Crewless flight requires more than radar. As your development partner, Plextek provides end-to-end support from initial concept through to qualified systems, helping you navigate the technical complexities of sensor integration for autonomous platforms.
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Global Navigation Satellite Systems such as the US Global Positioning System are increasingly vulnerable to jamming and spoofing.
Affordable, and practical technology is needed to enable systems that require positional knowledge to operate safely and reliably when GNSS is no longer available.
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