RF imaging devices in use
RF radar devices are being used in many different fields from automotive driverless cars, automated driverless pallets in warehouses and 3D scanning for site surveys. RF radar devices can work with artificial intelligence (AI) as an input along with camera sensor inputs to help give a high resolution and robust model of the environment around the device. This can allow driverless robotics and cars to move as intended and not come off the road or cause an incident.
RF radar devices for these applications need to be robust and have a high precision, yet have a low enough unit cost to enable them to be integrated into solutions. The current challenge they face is the reliance of camera only sensors by some manufacturers, however in bad visibility such as in mist or smoke field environments they need to be combined with RF radar devices for safety. Additionally, if camera sensors get covered in mud, debris or stray plastic bags on the freeway they don’t work or may make the AI used in a system to act irrationally and dangerously. As with people you need multiple sensing inputs to get a better more robust picture of what is happening around you and identify dangers; automated cars and robotics are no different.
In general RF imaging devices are getting better and cheaper due to mass production being used to fill the demand created by driverless cars and robotics. While this demand helps increase technological advancement at the same time while providing the means to create the next generation RF imaging devices, it comes with the need to drive new products to ensure supply chain integrity. Driverless cars are still an interesting paradigm that still is not fully on the horizon just yet and as such there is a risk to the RF imaging devices industry and a pull-based supply of devices. If changes to tort law or liability is changed to accommodate and or better systems developed it is likely that this market will be strengthened and worth much more than it is currently.
The Challenges of User
An important thing to remember for products that are automated is that if they cause death or harm, it is the product owner that is directly responsible for it, not the company that created the product. When you see people using automated cars from the back seat or sleeping it is interesting that there is no comprehension of this and disregard for life. RF radar devices can help reduce the possibility of an issue occurring with such devices but more informed decision making appears to be a key requirement. Interestingly it does not look like liability laws will change anytime soon as they already take into account complex systems.
The Future
RF imaging devices are systems that are needed for the next generation of driverless cars and industrial robotics to sense and map the external environment. As they use line-of-sight technology the time to map is slightly slower than camera sensors however offer better system robustness in adverse conditions. If RF imaging devices are taken through adverse and extreme conditions, they still have the potential to function when camera sensors cannot; and can mean the difference between life and death. In terms of robotics, RF imaging devices and systems that utilize them may not need to be as robust as self-driving cars due to potentially a controlled environment being achievable at automated manufacturing sites and warehouses. One thing that RF imaging devices do benefit from is the advancement of AI processors being created to work in small scalable systems perfect for automotive control units, as time goes on it is likely that a unified approach will be taken in using this technology further in such systems.
