Miniaturised radar ICs for high-insight, non-destructive testing in industrial applications

Miniaturised radar ICs for high-insight, non-destructive testing in industrial applications! ipXchange returns to the Silicon Radar / Indie Semiconductor stand, this time at Embedded World 2023, where Wojciech gives us a refresher on their 120 GHz flagship device before we are treated to two demonstrations of Silicon Radar’s technology. These are done in conjunction with Silicon Radar’s industry partners A4Radar (Advanced Algorithms For Radar) and Trilitec.

The first demonstration is presented by Francisco Salmerón and shows how Silicon Radar’s 120 GHz technology can be used for predictive maintenance of machinery. By using radar to detect the vibration frequency of a motor, for example, maintenance teams can observe changes from normal operation and investigate possible issues before they become a bigger problem. Radar technology allows this to be done at distances in the tens of metres from the machine, making it a great solution in large-scale applications such as airports, where you may want to keep a distance from certain aspects of the machinery. In fact, A4Radar was nominated for an Embedded Award for this solution.

The second demonstration is presented by Benjamin from Trilitec, who have incorporated a Silicon Labs IC into a sensor device for production line inspection. This allows products to be measured without the time-consuming act of removal from the process to be tested in a lab setting. Without touching the sample, radar technology can perform thickness and density measurements, which helps to detect product defects that may be associated with faults in stages of the manufacturing process. This also saves material as production issues are detected instantly, meaning that the process can be halted, and well-made sample products are not destroyed in the testing process. The same technology can also be used for smart agriculture to measure crop thickness and density via a drone.