Automotive Engineering - April 2022 - 29

Q&
Uhnder dives into the Ocean with digital radar
While the semi-conductor shortage continues to make headlines,
a radar-technology company is readying a first-to-market digital
radar chip application on the 2023 Fisker Ocean EV, as part of
Magna's ICON system. With its staff of some 200 engineers and
technology specialists, Austin, Texas-based Uhnder has netted
multiple patents for its digital imaging technology. CEO and cofounder
Manju Hegde spoke with SAE Media during a recent
drive in Michigan demonstrating Uhnder's technology.
How important is it to be first-to-market with digital radar
chips in the passenger vehicle market?
We have been very deliberate in bringing digital radar chips
into the automotive market. We've done multiple tape-outs
and extensive testing and validation to
ensure maturity of the technology, and
we've obtained the full complement of
certifications. In any technology market,
being first is a competitive advantage,
but especially so in automotive because
products are built to the exacting requirements
of the industry. We are not
resting on our laurels. We have already
begun working on our next-gen product
to be in-sync with the increased safety
needs as OEMs and consumers push for
more [driving] automation.
What's the biggest advantage of being
a start-up in the digital radar space?
Digital radar is transformative technology
for mobility. It addresses the safety shortcomings
of analog radar. In addition, the
software-defined aspect stimulates innovation
by the Tier 1s and OEMs, which will
accelerate the enhancement of safety.
Only a start-up could take a step as bold
as this, because a start-up can dream big,
is not hostage to the legacy IP of existing
products and not subject to the dogma of
the incumbent. Our team brings decades
of experience working for some of the
biggest names in automotive-specific
technology, including TI, Qualcomm,
NVIDIA, AMD, NXP, Continental, Aptiv,
and QNX. Our start-up dynamic allows us
to move quickly and creatively to pioneer
new technologies to meet the needs of
the industry.
What is Uhnder's core business plan?
Uhnder is targeting global Tier 1 suppliers
and OEMs making automated mobility
applications for the movement of
AUTOMOTIVE ENGINEERING
people and the movement of goods. Our products are already
in delivery robots for last-mile delivery and autonomous container
transports for container shipping, and we're excited to
make our debut in the electric vehicle market on the Fisker
Ocean later this year. We see a huge opportunity to help
make automated passenger vehicles safer, while supporting
the growth of autonomy in agriculture, construction, mining,
shipping, last-mile delivery and warehousing.
Why has Uhnder been an under-the-radar company since its
start in 2015?
Uhnder, as a start-up, has had a very close collaboration with
Magna, an automotive engineering powerhouse. From that
relationship, we learned that the auto
industry takes announcements very seriously
and expects delivery on what is
promised. We adopted this philosophy.
And while we discussed the advantages
of digital radar technology, we refrained
from making any promises about the
product until it was done, and we had
tested and validated all our claims.
Manju Hegde
says a paradigm
shift away from legacy
analog radar is underway.
We refrained
from making any
promises about the
product until... we
had validated all
our claims.
Is analog radar an outdated technology
for vehicle applications?
Recent reports from AAA and IIHS have
raised serious concerns about the
shortcomings of ADAS features in many
vehicles currently equipped with traditional
analog radar. Legacy analog radar
arose from legacy applications,
such as cruise control and blind spot
detection, where the need was to detect
other cars whether at antenna
boresight or in an adjacent lane. As the
industry moves toward (SAE) Level 2,
Level 3, Level 4, the needs are much
more stringent: We must detect bicyclists
next to the curb, children next to
parked cars, stalled cars under bridges,
and so on. It is in these use cases that
the shortcomings of legacy analog radar,
such as insufficient resolution, poor
contrast, limited range, and interference
susceptibility get exposed and compromise
safety. The legacy radar manufacturers
are all feverishly putting together
many, many, legacy analog radar chips
on a system to try and address these
deficiencies but these solutions create a
new set of issues, such as complexity,
power, and ambiguity.
Kami Buchholz
April 2022 29
A
UHNDER
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