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IWR1642BOOST: Elevation Determination

Santhana Raj
Expert 1755 points
Part Number: IWR1642BOOST
Other Parts Discussed in Thread: IWR1642, IWR1443, IWR1443BOOST

Is it possible to detect elevation also along with azimuth from the IWR1642BOOST??

I understand that for 360 view for a drone, I require a matrix of RX sensors. The image of IWR1642 looks like it has only 1 array of sensors. So i assume it can detect objects  in azimuth but not in elevation. Am I correct? If so, My question is in 2 levels:

1. Is there any other product from TI or others using TI sensors which can help my drone to see in full 360 degrees, (azimuth and elevation)

2. If I have to make my hardware for this, What is the easy way out?? Can I arrange 3-4 IWR1642BOOST in some way to get elevation also?? If so, Can you point me in correct direction for this approach.

I am unable to find any info about elevation in any of the IWR documents or videos. The only thing I got is to mount the sensor in different directions to get elevation information. If I have missed something, kindly let me know that also.

Santhana Raj

  • 0
    TI__Mastermind 23570 points
    Hi Santhana,

    You are right about IWR1642 capable of doing Azimuth but not the Elevation and this only because of the Antenna are placed on the board.
    IWR1443 can be an option for Azimuth and Elevation.

    We will respond here with more details addressing other questions in your post.


    Regards,
    Vaibhav
  • 0 in reply to Vaibhav Mahimkar
    Expert 1755 points
    I notice that one of the transmitters of IWR1443 is placed a little higher than the other 2. Does this enable this board to sense objects in vertical direction (elevation) also??

    I coudlnt find anything to support this, except that the documentation on Demo Visualizer says for IWR1443, we can see objects in 3D cube.

    If IWR1443BOOST can detect objects in both elevation and azimuth (both horizontal and vertical directions), then I would like to know the maximum achievable angle resolution in both these directions.

    Thanks,
    Santhana raj
  • 0 in reply to Santhana Raj
    TI__Mastermind 23570 points

    Hi Santhana,

    In order to determine elevation the antenna array should span elevation direction. As you noticed the EVM board for IWR1443 (IWR1443BOOST) shows one of the transmitter antenna at higher elevation than the other two. This forms an antenna array in elevation direction (in addition to Azimuth).

    I should clarify my comments about IWR1642 vs IWR1642BOOST  which is the EVM for IWR1642.

    IWR1642 device has the capability to detect angle in either direction as long as the antenna placement can allow you to form a virtual antenna array in that direction.

    IWR1642BOOST which is EVM board for IWR1642 has antenna array in azimuth plane,  that is all the antennas on this board are at the same elevation w.r.t. each other. So antennas on this board provide angle resolution in azimuth plane.

    For elevation detection with IWR1642 the antenna/board can be designed to form antenna array in elevation plane by spacing the two transmitters in elevation plane.

    Regarding angle resolution:

    Resolution of Angle is based on number of antenna (N) in antenna array given by formula:

    Angle resolution = 2 / N.  More details about angle resolution can be found in MIMO Radar application Note.

    For IWR1642BOOST, IWR1443BOOST in Azimuth plane the combination of 2 Transmitters and Four receivers form an array of 8 antennas which will give azimuth angle resolution of ~14 degrees.

    Please note the above numbers are for EVM board of respective devices. One could design the board with different combination or antennas in a certain direction to increase/decrease the resolution in that plane.

    Resolving multiple objects:

    Resolving multiple objects can be achieved by distinguishing objects in direction and velocity in addition to angle. So if two objects are not resolved in angle then they could be distinguished by difference in distance or velocity. Just wanted to highlight that there are multiple ways to tell one object spaced out from the other.

    In summary IWR1642 and IWR1443 are able to resolve angles in azimuth as well as elevation plane provided the antennas form array in that direction.

    Hope that helps. Please let us know if there are more questions around this.

    Thank you,

    Vaibhav

  • 0 in reply to Vaibhav Mahimkar
    Expert 1755 points
    Thanks You very much. It definitely helped.
    This explains and clarifies all my doubts on this topic.

    Thanks Again,
    Santhana Raj