Ultra-low power UWB Radar Impulse

In many applications, from robotics to home and industry automation, localizing objects and people is an essential feature. Outdoor localization is generally performed using GNSS, GPS, which does not work in indoor scenarios. In this applications, systems like BLE and UWB tag-anchor system are commonly implemented. However, these systems involve the necessity of carrying a battery supplied tag together with the tracked object. This limits the applicability to human and/or animals, that are not happy to wear 24/7 electronic devices, or it can increase the system cost for industrial products. In this scenario, passive solution have recently arise. A common approach is the utilization of System on Chip miniaturized radars including antennas, transceivers, and data pre-processing. This approach already demonstrated its effectiveness in tracking people, while measuring vital parameters, such as respiration and hear rate. Novel technology is also exploiting now System on Chip based on UWB radio signals, emulating the radar but at lower frequencies. This approach is promising because with the same integrate sensors there is the possibility to passively track objects, implement trilateration between pairs of tag-anchor, and transmit data remotely.

In many applications, from robotics to home and industry automation, localizing objects and people is an essential feature. Outdoor localization is generally performed using GNSS, GPS, which does not work in indoor scenarios. In this applications, systems like BLE and UWB tag-anchor system are commonly implemented. However, these systems involve the necessity of carrying a battery supplied tag together with the tracked object. This limits the applicability to human and/or animals, that are not happy to wear 24/7 electronic devices, or it can increase the system cost for industrial products.
In this scenario, passive solution have recently arise. A common approach is the utilization of System on Chip miniaturized radars including antennas, transceivers, and data pre-processing. This approach already demonstrated its effectiveness in tracking people, while measuring vital parameters, such as respiration and hear rate. Novel technology is also exploiting now System on Chip based on UWB radio signals, emulating the radar but at lower frequencies. This approach is promising because with the same integrate sensors there is the possibility to passively track objects, implement trilateration between pairs of tag-anchor, and transmit data remotely.

The purpose of this project is to develop a non-invasive tracking system exploiting the radar-UWB technology offered by the UWB X7 from Novelda (https://novelda.com/x7-radar-direct#). The X7 is an Ultra-Wideband (UWB) impulse radar transceiver System on Chip (SoC) integrating two 7.875 GHz transmitters for unlicensed operation in worldwide markets, two direct RF-sampling receivers, advanced power management functions and on-chip signal processing in a single chip. The project includes a full system characterization in controlled and uncontrolled scenarios and a final demo comparing the tracking performances of the UWB radar system with conventional radar FMCW (Frequency-Modulated Continuous Wave radar, radar FMCW).

The purpose of this project is to develop a non-invasive tracking system exploiting the radar-UWB technology offered by the UWB X7 from Novelda (https://novelda.com/x7-radar-direct#). The X7 is an Ultra-Wideband (UWB) impulse radar transceiver System on Chip (SoC) integrating two 7.875 GHz transmitters for unlicensed operation in worldwide markets, two direct RF-sampling receivers, advanced power management functions and on-chip signal processing in a single chip. The project includes a full system characterization in controlled and uncontrolled scenarios and a final demo comparing the tracking performances of the UWB radar system with conventional radar FMCW (Frequency-Modulated Continuous Wave radar, radar FMCW).

Dr. Tommaso Polonelli (tommaso.polonelli@pbl.ee.ethz.ch) Manuel Glahn (manuel.glahn@pbl.ee.ethz.ch)

Dr. Tommaso Polonelli (tommaso.polonelli@pbl.ee.ethz.ch)
Manuel Glahn (manuel.glahn@pbl.ee.ethz.ch)