IWR6843AOPEVM: Is the data captured by the sensor every physical object?

Nicolas Obregon

Part Number: IWR6843AOPEVM
Other Parts Discussed in Thread: IWR6843AOP, DCA1000EVM

When the radar is running, is it capturing every single point that is a physical object? Meaning that the floor, the walls, people will return to a radar specific points?

Example, if I am running the radar and in its field of view is a chair, will it return the x, y and z position of a bunch of points captured of parts of the chair? What is captured besides the x, y and z position for the IWR6843AOP?

over 2 years ago

0 Luke Rouleau over 2 years ago

TI__Expert 4448 points

Hi Nicolas,

Obviously the exact algorithmic implementation varies per application, as the radar could be used in a multitude of applications such as tracking people, detecting fluid levels in a tank, obstacle avoidance, etc.

From those examples, it is evident that the radar can sense varying levels of stationary vs moving targets. It all depends on the level of SNR filtering the algorithm is employing.

For example, in a person-tracking application, we implement something called a CFAR algorithm to distinguish a strong signal from a moving breathing person from the weaker signals and the general noise floor of the scene. Thus, a point in the cloud for this lab would only appear where the SNR is strong enough, not for every single detection/reflection in the scene.

In every application, this filtering/distinguishing of what should and should not be a point is different and very important to the performance of the application.

For a detailed example of the detection and tracking layers used in a complex application, look at these two documents in our People Counting application:

Regards,

Luke

0 Nicolas Obregon over 2 years ago in reply to Luke Rouleau

Prodigy 190 points

Thanks Luke, what about when I run the radar with no appliaction on it? Is it then capturing everything?

0 Luke Rouleau over 2 years ago in reply to Nicolas Obregon

TI__Expert 4448 points

It seems like you are interested in raw data capture. Please look into using our DCA1000 data capture board which enables the capturing of raw ADC samples from the radar front end with no post-processing.

Regards,

Luke

0 Nicolas Obregon over 2 years ago in reply to Luke Rouleau

Prodigy 190 points

Are these different applications you talked about before determined by the cfg file in each of the labs? For example xwr68xxconfig.cfg? Or more related to the C code that is in the demos files from the SDKs? For reference, I would like the radar to see all the data the radar is capturing, for this, which application would you suggest?

Also, from what I understand the DCA1000EVM will give me raw data, for which I will have to write my own code to parse correct?

0 Luke Rouleau over 2 years ago in reply to Nicolas Obregon

TI__Expert 4448 points

The applications differ both majorly in the C code, which is built into a binary to run on the device, and in the config files that are sent to the device.

When you are capturing raw data via the DCA1000 and mmWaveStudio, there is no application running, since we are getting just the pre-processed ADC data.

The DCA1000 pairs with our software called mmWaveStudio, so you will not have to write your own code, although you could. Please refer to our DCA1000 User's Guide (https://dev.ti.com/tirex/explore/node?a=1AslXXD__1.00.00.26&node=A__AGTrhNYW8jE6cMxbovlfaA__radar_toolbox__1AslXXD__1.00.00.26) for more context, and you can also explore the example projects there in the Resource Explorer as well.

Regards,

Luke

0 Nicolas Obregon over 2 years ago in reply to Luke Rouleau

Prodigy 190 points

Thanks Luke, especially for being patient with me. What cfg file do you recommend for me to capture pretty much everything the radar can? is there such a configuration file or should I just mess around with the configurations until I have something I like?

Also, where can I find a detailed explaination of the parameters on the xwr68xx AOP cofniguration file?

+1 Luke Rouleau over 2 years ago in reply to Nicolas Obregon

TI__Expert 4448 points

Hey Nicholas,

Absolutely no need to thank me for patience, these are complex devices and we are here to help explain them!
To answer your second question, look at this document, section 3.4: Configuration (.cfg) File Format, wherever you have your SDK 3 installed:
[SDK3 DIR]/docs/mmwave_sdk_user_guide.pdf

To answer your first question, it is largely tuning and experimentation to get what you want. We recommend starting from a CFG file in a lab example in our RADAR TOOLBOX that is close to what you want, and then tune it to your application. We have tools like the mmWave Sensing Estimator that can help you make sure your configuration is valid.

Regards,
Luke

0 Nicolas Obregon over 2 years ago in reply to Luke Rouleau

Prodigy 190 points

Ill do that then, thanks once again Luke :). Ill close this thread

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IWR6843AOPEVM: Is the data captured by the sensor every physical object?