HELLA expands radar-based driver assistance range

Lippstadt, June 9, 2016. The vision of driverless cars is one step closer; acceptance of and demand for driver assistance systems continues to grow. Highly robust and weatherproof radar-based system technologies are gaining in importance as the main way of implementing a wide range of safety and comfort functions. The new CompactRadar Sensor will see HELLA set new standards in 77 GHz technology. This innovation has come about thanks to Radar System Chips from NXP. The CompactRadar Sensors product family will probably launch in mid 2018.

The Radar System Chip at the core of the CompactRadar Sensor from HELLA was first developed by NXP, on the basis of RF-CMOS technology. With an innovative system architecture and ultra-compact, highly integrated design, the entire CompactRadar Sensor is not much bigger than a matchbox. Because it also delivers a high level of performance, this sensor provides a number of new options for integration both inside and outside the vehicle. For example, gesture commands in the interior or the 360° perception of the vehicle's exterior surroundings. The latter is essential for automated parking. Compared with standard ultrasonic sensors, the CompactRadar Sensor also has a larger field of vision, better range, and higher resolution.

As a market leader in 24 GHz radar technology in the narrowband range with decades of know-how, HELLA intends to transfer its expertise to new areas of application. For the development of radar antenna structures, the company has entered into an exclusive partnership, concluded in June 2016, with InnoSenT, a joint venture company in which HELLA has a 50-percent holding. Through the new cooperation, all the radar products manufactured by the Donnersdorf-based technology firm for the automotive industry will be sold exclusively to HELLA. What's more, in the field of Radar System Chips HELLA is extending the business relationship established in 2012 with the Dutch semiconductor manufacturer NXP, which first presented the 77 GHz chip at CES 2016. Through close working relations with leading technology firms like InnoSenT and NXP, HELLA produces synergy effects between technological and innovative strength on the one hand and years of experience in industrialization on the other.