HELLA brings 77 GHz corner radar into series production in China

Lippstadt / Shanghai, October 26, 2022. With the automotive industry trend towards autonomous driving and the change of electronic and electrical architectures brought about by the development of electric vehicles, demand for new application scenarios and higher detection capabilities of radars is increasing so that the needs of higher-level automated driving applications and different electrical vehicle architectures can be met. As a key component provider for automated driving, HELLA, the internationally positioned automotive supplier who operates under the umbrella brand FORVIA, has extensive expertise in the field of radar and almost 20 years of experience in series production, producing more than 50 million radar sensors for over 300 carlines around the globe. In Summer 2022, HELLA launched the series production of 77 GHz corner radar in China for the first time. A variety of local automotive OEMs is amongst HELLA’s customers. The product launches took place at HELLA Shanghai Electronics which is the largest electronics plant in the global HELLA network.

“At HELLA, we adopt a localization strategy of 'in China, for China' to better meet the needs of local customers. The launch of the 77 GHz corner radar in China is of great significance for HELLA China, further strengthening the localization of HELLA’s global leading technology,” says Yu Wei, Senior Vice President of HELLA Technical Center for Electronics in the Asia Pacific region. “This allows us to better support our local customers in convergence development of higher-level automated driving features and provides a smarter and safer driving experience for end users."

HELLA has innovative antenna design technology and rich experience in algorithm development. HELLA's 77 GHz corner radar sensor is based on a radar system chip with RF-CMOS technology and processes, a specific array antenna design for both horizontal and vertical directions, and uses MIMO technology, bringing a wider field of view and more accurate detection accuracy. Besides recognizing moving trucks, cars, two-wheelers, and pedestrians, it can also detect the position and height of static obstacles in near range mode with high precision, including small target objects such as curbs and roadside fences. In addition, it can also output a raw target level and bounding box which can provide variant detection data or the development and fusion of automated driving algorithms of OEMs. In short-range mode, the HELLA 77 GHz corner radar provides end customers with traditional corner radar standalone functionalities, such as lane change assist, blind spot detection, front and rear cross traffic assist/brake, and rear collision warning. In mid-range mode, the array antenna design enables the radar to detect up to 200 meters, adapting to the detection capability of more application scenarios, which can well meet the multi-dimensional demand of automotive manufacturers for corner radars.

HELLA radars have strong algorithm adaptability and real data acquisition worldwide in several countries, cities, and various types of roads. In response to the complex road conditions in China, HELLA has carried out localized application development in China for many years and has also conducted a large number of radar performance verification under China’s specific driving scenarios, such as dense traffic and two-wheelers.

Based on its modular and scalable design, the HELLA 77 GHz corner radar sensor supports various electrical vehicle architectures covering variant automated driving requirements for radar, and it can also provide both CAN FD and Ethernet to meet different bandwidth requirements. With its compact size, HELLA's 77 GHz corner radar offers new possibilities for easy integration in the vehicle. This makes it possible to place the radar on the side, for example under the side skirts or the trim panels of the B-pillars. And the enhanced lateral detection capability compensates for the blind spot of the front and rear corner radar, enabling detection of the entire vehicle’s surroundings in 360 degrees. Meanwhile, more accurate detection data of the side environment is available to help customers implement more complex automated driving functions.