Analysis of Current State of In-Vehicle Millimeter-Wave Radar Testing

The testing landscape for millimeter-wave radar in vehicles involves various stages and faces challenges in standardization and performance evaluation. Here's an overview and analysis of the current state of in-vehicle millimeter-wave radar testing:

1. Analysis of Millimeter-Wave Radar Testing Projects:

Currently, testing for millimeter-wave radar involves several key stages:

• Early Stage: Functional Testing and Key Performance Testing

Functional testing simulates obstacles such as vehicles, non-motorized vehicles, and pedestrians at various distances, speeds, and angles to evaluate radar parameters like distance range, accuracy, speed range, speed accuracy, angle range, angle accuracy, radar cross-section, and beamwidth.

• Mid-Stage: Hardware-in-the-Loop (HITL) Testing

Hardware-in-the-loop testing involves collaboration with automotive dynamic simulation software and other equipment to perform hardware testing in a simulated environment.

• Late Stage: Usability Testing

Usability testing is conducted in real ADAS scenarios in experimental settings to confirm the final usability of the millimeter-wave radar.

2. Development Status of Testing Equipment:

• Currently, major suppliers of millimeter-wave radar testing equipment include Rohde & Schwarz (R&S) based in Munich, Germany, dSPACE from the United States, and Tokyo Sokki Kenkyujo Systems from Japan.

• R&S's millimeter-wave radar testing system supports testing requirements for 24GHz, 77GHz, and 79GHz radars with an analysis bandwidth of up to 5GHz. It provides comprehensive performance evaluation of radar transmitters and receivers.

• dSPACE focuses on monitoring the ability of vehicle radar to detect targets. The main component is a cylindrical electromagnetic shielding dark box with movable simulated radar targets along its inner walls.

• Tokyo Sokki Kenkyujo Systems' ASGARD system simulates traffic conditions for vehicles equipped with radar. It evaluates whether the functionality of automotive ADAS autonomous driving assistance systems meets requirements.

• Ling Chuang Rui Di, based in Suzhou, has developed a radar testing system compatible with 24GHz and 77GHz millimeter-wave radar. It allows radar target simulation, functionality and performance testing, and real-world testing of radar samples, supporting various third-party scene simulation software.

3. Current Status of Testing Standards Construction:

Internationally, the millimeter-wave radar testing standard is ETSI EN 303 396 V1.1.1 (2016-12), established by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute. This standard outlines some performance indicators and testing methods for in-vehicle millimeter-wave radar but lacks methods related to radar module functional testing.

4. Challenges in In-Vehicle Millimeter-Wave Radar Testing:

• Lack of Unified Testing Standards:

There is a lack of unified requirements and specifications for performance indicators and functional points that millimeter-wave radar should be tested for. This contributes to varying product quality in the market, hindering the healthy development of the entire in-vehicle millimeter-wave radar industry.

Reliability and Safety Concerns:

Without standardized testing, assessing whether products meet real-use conditions and exhibit reliability under complex and extreme environments remains uncertain. This lack of clarity poses potential risks, especially if faulty products are integrated into intelligent connected vehicles, leading to traffic safety incidents.

• Responsibility Attribution in Accidents:

In the event of accidents involving intelligent connected vehicles, the absence of standardized testing may lead to challenges in determining responsibility, potentially resulting in mutual blame among stakeholders.

In conclusion, the current methods and standards for testing millimeter-wave radar in vehicles are not yet well-established. Third-party laboratories with testing capabilities are limited. Standardization efforts and a comprehensive evaluation system for in-vehicle millimeter-wave radar, as well as prompt market guidance and regulation, are crucial for the industry's development and ensuring safety in intelligent connected vehicles.