IWR6843AOPEVM: Questions about RCS configuration

Hi Huy,

The RCS will affect the detection SNR and signal power of the device. 

Is this for a drone? If so, you might benefit from our drones offering for IWRL6432 found here.

https://dev.ti.com/tirex/explore/node?a=1AslXXD__2.30.00.12&node=A__AdgGI2Xg9ThI2Z21LIQ0sQ__radar_toolbox__1AslXXD__2.30.00.12&placeholder=true

Best,

Nate

Hello Nathan,

Thank you for your advice. I want to apply this radar to a drone if it is suitable. I have some questions:

1. I'm using can_integration_example_6843 for IWR6843AOPEVM and making some code modifications to suit my needs. Specifically, I'm only sending data about detected object coordinates through the function Can_Transmit_Schedule(CAN_MESSAGE_DETECTED_POINTS, (uint8_t*)result->objOut, sizeof(DPIF_PointCloudCartesian) * 12); I don't need other information so I've commented out those code lines. This data is processed through STM32G474RE, then transmitted to the laptop via USB protocol and visualized through a Python interface that I created. Does this affect the radar's detection capabilities? (I've tested with larger cross-section objects and the radar still works well).

2. According to the link you suggested, the .cfg file for IWRL6432 differs from the file for my board, so I haven't been able to use that file completely. I've read through the "Overview of Configuration File (.cfg) Changes from Presence Detection Profile" section and adjusted those parameters, but the performance hasn't improved significantly. Could you provide me with the .cfg file for IWR6843AOPEVM?

3. I'm testing the detection of wires with dimensions of 7x7mm and 3.5x3.5mm placed horizontally in air. For the 7x7mm wire, the radar detects fairly well within a range of less than 2m (but the detection points don't spread out as shown in the video link you sent), while the 3.5x3.5mm wire shows quite weak signals (I've attached some images below along with the content of my .cfg file). Do you have any comments on my case?

BR,

Huy

% ***************************************************************
% Created for SDK ver:03.06
% Created using Visualizer ver:3.6.0.0
% Frequency:60
% Platform:xWR68xx_AOP
% Scene Classifier:best_range_res
% Azimuth Resolution(deg):30 + 30
% Range Resolution(m):0.039
% Maximum unambiguous Range(m):11.99
% Maximum Radial Velocity(m/s):1
% Radial velocity resolution(m/s):0.13
% Frame Duration(msec):50
% RF calibration data:None
% Range Detection Threshold (dB):15
% Doppler Detection Threshold (dB):15
% Range Peak Grouping:enabled
% Doppler Peak Grouping:enabled
% Static clutter removal:disabled
% Angle of Arrival FoV: Full FoV
% Range FoV: Full FoV
% Doppler FoV: Full FoV
% ***************************************************************
sensorStop
flushCfg
dfeDataOutputMode 1
channelCfg 15 7 0
adcCfg 2 1
adcbufCfg -1 0 1 1 1
profileCfg 0 60 216 7 200 0 0 20 1 384 2000 0 0 158
chirpCfg 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
chirpCfg 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 2
chirpCfg 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 4
frameCfg 0 2 16 0 50 1 0
lowPower 0 0
guiMonitor -1 1 1 0 0 0 1
cfarCfg -1 0 2 8 4 3 0 1 1
cfarCfg -1 1 0 4 2 3 1 1 1
multiObjBeamForming -1 1 0.5
clutterRemoval -1 0
calibDcRangeSig -1 0 -5 8 256
extendedMaxVelocity -1 0
lvdsStreamCfg -1 0 0 0
compRangeBiasAndRxChanPhase 0.0 1 0 -1 0 1 0 -1 0 1 0 -1 0 1 0 -1 0 1 0 -1 0 1 0 -1 0
measureRangeBiasAndRxChanPhase 0 1.5 0.2
CQRxSatMonitor 0 3 19 125 0
CQSigImgMonitor 0 127 6
analogMonitor 0 0
aoaFovCfg -1 -60 60 -60 60
cfarFovCfg -1 0 0 12.00
cfarFovCfg -1 1 -1 1.00
calibData 0 0 0

% *****************TRACKING COMMANDS*****************************
staticBoundaryBox -8 8 0 8 -1 1.5
boundaryBox -8 8 0 8 -1 3
gatingParam 4 2 2 2 10
stateParam 2 10 10 50 1
allocationParam 5 5 0.05 3 2.5 2
maxAcceleration 0.1 0.1 0.1
trackingCfg 1 2 250 20 20 260 100 90

% *****************STATIC DETECTION COMMANDS*********************
heatmapGenCfg -1 1 0 10 70 60.0 3.0 10
staticDetectionCfg -1 0 -50.0 +70.0 -10.0 50.0 0.7 6 0.2 4 20.0

% *****************SENSOR START*********************
sensorStart

Hi,

Huy said:

1. I'm using can_integration_example_6843 for IWR6843AOPEVM and making some code modifications to suit my needs. Specifically, I'm only sending data about detected object coordinates through the function Can_Transmit_Schedule(CAN_MESSAGE_DETECTED_POINTS, (uint8_t*)result->objOut, sizeof(DPIF_PointCloudCartesian) * 12); I don't need other information so I've commented out those code lines. This data is processed through STM32G474RE, then transmitted to the laptop via USB protocol and visualized through a Python interface that I created. Does this affect the radar's detection capabilities? (I've tested with larger cross-section objects and the radar still works well).

That should not affect detection performance

Huy said:

2. According to the link you suggested, the .cfg file for IWRL6432 differs from the file for my board, so I haven't been able to use that file completely. I've read through the "Overview of Configuration File (.cfg) Changes from Presence Detection Profile" section and adjusted those parameters, but the performance hasn't improved significantly. Could you provide me with the .cfg file for IWR6843AOPEVM?

I would just recommend using the 6432 platform entirely, rather than try to translate the cfg from one device to the other.

Huy said:

3. I'm testing the detection of wires with dimensions of 7x7mm and 3.5x3.5mm placed horizontally in air. For the 7x7mm wire, the radar detects fairly well within a range of less than 2m (but the detection points don't spread out as shown in the video link you sent), while the 3.5x3.5mm wire shows quite weak signals (I've attached some images below along with the content of my .cfg file). Do you have any comments on my case?

Can you try to boost your signal strength? You can do this by increasing your integration time, either by increasing the number of chirp loops, or by having your chirps take a longer duration. Can you increase numLoops to 32? This should provide a 3 dB gain in SNR respectively. You may need to decrease your frame rate to support this. Something like this:

frameCfg 0 2 32 0 100 1 0

You can also try decreasing your sampling rate and taking fewer samples for longer like below.

profileCfg 0 60 216 7 200 0 0 20 1 256 2000 0 0 158
channelCfg 15 7 0
adcbufCfg -1 0 1 1 1
chirpCfg 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
chirpCfg 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 2
chirpCfg 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 4
frameCfg 0 2 64 0 100 1 0

Best,

Nate

Hi,

When I load the file Drone_Obstacle_Detection.cfg into my radar the console window displays like the image below. Was the cfg file upload to the radar successful?

BR,
Huy