Breaking the monopoly of international giants, Sensortech has achieved the localization of large-scale 77GHz automotive millimeter-wave radar for the first time

At the end of May 2019, with the grand launch of FAW Hongqi's latest masterpiece HS5, Sensortech's 77GHz automotive millimeter-wave radar became the first ADAS millimeter-wave radar sensor in China to truly "go on the road". This also means that Sensortech has become the first company in China to achieve mass production of 77GHz automotive millimeter-wave radar and break the monopoly of international giants.

By leveraging the company's technical advantages and strong R&D capabilities, Sensortech has carried out in-depth technical cooperation with FAW Hongqi and customized and developed a core on-board active safety sensor for it - a 77GHz on-board millimeter-wave radar. The product has excellent indicators and high reliability. As the flagship of the brand, HS5 is equipped with the lane departure monitoring system, blind spot monitoring system, front collision warning system + active emergency braking system independently developed by Sensortech, realizing the construction of top-level active and passive safety systems from active warning to passive protection, greatly improving safety performance and providing consumers with safer driving protection.

·Senstech's road to mass production of 77GHz millimeter-wave radar

With the continuous development of the automobile industry, the vehicle assisted driving system has brought drivers a relaxed and safe driving experience, and has gradually become the standard configuration of various new models. As a product of the deep integration of the automobile industry with high-tech information technologies such as artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, and high-performance computing, autonomous driving has become the most important development direction in the global automobile and transportation fields at present and in the future, and has gradually become a strategic high ground for countries to compete for. In order to achieve comprehensive autonomous driving of vehicles, vehicles must have the ability to accurately perceive the surrounding environment. From active safety technology in the traditional automobile industry to autonomous driving technology, on-board radar sensors play the role of the eyes and brains of the car, and their key role in realizing vehicle autonomous driving is self-evident. At present, L2-level autonomous driving has entered the public's field of vision, and the future L3 and L4 levels are more worthy of our expectations. In order to achieve a higher level of autonomous driving, higher-resolution millimeter-wave radar will undoubtedly become the best technical solution for future environmental perception. At present, including domestic and foreign first-tier car manufacturers and automotive electronics industry giants, the industry has basically reached a consensus on the development of future millimeter-wave radars, that is, to study high-resolution millimeter-wave radar sensors based on 77GHz.

For any technological achievement, the test of the market and customers is the hard truth. Achieving targeted breakthroughs in mass production projects of first-tier brand passenger cars is a yardstick for measuring the comprehensive competitiveness of automotive sensor technology companies. In view of the importance of unmanned driving active safety systems in the entire vehicle system, various OEMs have set high entry barriers for related products and have stringent requirements for the real-time, accuracy, universality, and reliability of the system. How to achieve "reliability" and "consistency" has become a major problem that various millimeter-wave radar R&D companies need to solve on the road to mass production.

As a pioneer and leader in the domestic millimeter-wave radar industry, Sensortech currently has a research and development team of more than 250 people. Its technical level and investment scale are both in the leading position in China. It not only has a fully automated automotive radar production line and assembly line, but also has the ability to mass-produce automotive radars. What is even more rare is that Sensortech has developed into a supplier within the Japanese and Korean OEM system, and is also the first domestic Tier 1 supplier to enter international car manufacturers such as Hyundai Kia in South Korea. As of the end of 2018, Sensortech has welcomed nearly 20 car manufacturers for factory inspection. Sensortech's innovative technology, product accuracy, reliability, consistency, and universality have been widely recognized by domestic and international OEMs. The vehicle-mounted fixed-point products are based on the OEM's technical agreement and milestone node requirements, and special matching plans for each model are formulated, and strict progress management is carried out. In 2019, the company is developing 16 automotive radar projects, and 4 passenger car models will be put into mass production within the year. In 2020, the number of passenger car models in mass production will increase by 12.

The successful launch of all new products is an important reflection of the company's accumulation of technology, capital and talent.

The successful development and launch of Sensortech's 77GHz automotive millimeter-wave radar is inseparable from the advantages of talent accumulation. With the determination to continuously achieve technological breakthroughs and the spirit of hard work and perseverance, the R&D team has gone through many radar software and hardware development and design revisions, countless functional tests in harsh environments such as dust/rain/snow/high and low temperatures, countless algorithm and test failures and successes, hundreds of thousands of kilometers of real vehicle testing and verification, and more than ten demo products. Finally, a radar sensor suitable for China's road conditions and driving habits was developed.

Sensortech has become the first company in China to achieve mass production of 77GHz millimeter-wave radars, relying not only on its talent advantages, but more importantly, on Sensortech's strict pursuit of technical concepts and product quality. At present, the company has applied for 69 national invention patents and 33 software copyrights. At the same time, it has obtained a number of qualification certificates, including the production license of traffic information monitoring radar; 25 product certificates and test reports from the Ministry of Public Security, the State Radio, the National Institute of Metrology, etc.; 8 ROHS certificates and reports; 5 CE certificates and reports; 5 system certificates (including TS16949, ISO9001, etc.); 1 high-tech enterprise certificate; 2 technology-based enterprise certificates.

In the next three years, Sensortech plans to invest more than 300 million yuan in research and development to continuously increase talent introduction, improve millimeter-wave radar mass production capacity and product quality control capabilities, and further expand the company's competitive advantage in the international market. In the mass production of driverless car millimeter-wave radar, Sensortech will continue to be at the forefront of the industry, and domestically produced high-resolution millimeter-wave radar sensors for L3/L4 level autonomous driving are just around the corner!