MODULAR MILLIMETER WAVE FMCW SENSOR

MILLITECH PROPOSES A MILLIMETER WAVE FMCW SENSOR SYSTEM TO SATISFY THE GROWING NEED FOR A SMALL, MODULAR, AND INEXPENSIVE SHORT RANGE NON-CONTACT RANGING SYSTEM FOR ROBOT COLLISION AVOIDANCE. USE OF MILLIMETER WAVES OVERCOMES MOST OF THE SHORT-COMINGS OF EXISTING ULTRASONIC AND INFRARED SENSORS. MILLIMETER WAVE SENSORS ARE ABLE TO OPERATE IN SUCH ADVERSE ENVIRONMENTS AS SMOKE, DUST, CHEMICAL SMOG, FOG, SNOW, ETC., WHICH BLIND MOST INFRARED AND VISUAL SYSTEMS. MILLIMETER WAVES, UNLIKE ULTRASOUND WAVES, ARE ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES, AND THUS ARE QUITE INSENSITIVE TO CHANGING TEMPERATURE AND OTHER PROPERTIES OF THE ENVIRONMENT. MILLIMETER WAVE SENSORS CAN BE MADE 1001000 TIMES SMALLER THAN COMPARABLE MICROWAVE SENSORS. MILLIMETER WAVE TECHNOLOGY, PARTICULARLY IN THE AREA OF LOW-COST, HIGH-PERFORMANCE ASSEMBLIES, HAS MADE GREAT STRIDES RECENTLY, SO THAT IT IS NOW ENTIRELY PRACTICAL TO MAKE INEXPENSIVE SENSORS OF THE TYPE PROPOSED. HYBRID MILLIMETER WAVE INTEGRATED CIRCUITS WILL ALLOW, IN PRODUCTION QUANTITIES, COSTS OF ONLY SEVERAL HUNDRED DOLLARS PER SENSOR MODULE, MAKING SUCH HIGH-PERFORMANCE SENSORS VERY COST-EFFECTIVE. IN PHASE I,WE PROPOSE A SET OF DESIRED SPECIFICATIONS IN CONSULTATION WITH THE END USERS, AND BUILD A BRASSBOARD SENSOR TO TEST CERTAIN ALGORITHMS AND SYSTEM OPTIONS. BASED ON THE RESULTS OF THIS WORK, WE WILL DEVELOP A BASELINE SYSTEM DESIGN AND COST MODELS FOR A MODULAR MILLIMETER WAVE FMCW SENSOR FOR COLLISION AVOIDANCE.