Oxford RF is developing a unique, next-generation radar sensor for ADAS and autonomy that creates a 360º safety bubble around vehicles, creating more efficient collision prevention detection for a fraction of the cost of current technologies.

Oxford RF is made up of a team of award-winning sensor designers, spearheaded by CEO Dr. Kashif Siddiq. Having looked at the market, the Oxford RF team felt that most sensors used in connected and automated vehicles were not originally designed with those vehicles in mind. Instead they had been adapted and ‘bolted on’ to vehicles and therefore were not an optimum solution. The Oxford RF team started from the perspective that there was a huge market need for a purpose-built sensor. The key issues they set out to address were:

• Cost – a high priority for OEMs. They need affordable, reliable collision prevention systems that can be easily integrated into a wide range of vehicles.
• Quantity – currently the sheer number of sensors required for a vehicle to be deemed safe could be 20+, and this does not account for the second layer of redundancy. For example, back-up sensors in case a sensor on a vehicle were to fail in an ADAS setting, or even a third failsafe layer of redundancy in a fully autonomous context. In many cases, taking this conventional approach means that the combined cost of sensors is greater than the cost of the vehicle to which they are attached.
• Sustainability – there are clear implications for power consumption. It follows that such a high number of sensors requires significant comms and power to connect them, which has a negative effect on the power required to run the vehicle.

What makes Oxford RF special?

Kashif explains:

The key innovation at Oxford RF sees us move away from the traditional radar and LiDAR system’s need for rotating components to achieve a 360º view of the surrounding environment. Instead, we have developed the world’s first solid-state 360º sensor that uses its proprietary antenna on top of the sensor panel. It enables us to achieve full-range coverage without any of the moving parts.”

Oxford RF’s innovation will reduce the number of sensors required on a conventional ADAS vehicle to four and just eight for autonomy. By developing a solid-state sensor that is able to scan 360º (although mostly it would be limited to 270º if the sensor is attached to the corner of the vehicle), they are able to provide a vehicle with the capacity to look at the same scene from slightly different perspectives. This then offers overlapping coverage with just four sensors mounted on a conventional ADAS vehicle. The upshot of this technology is that Oxford RF is able to address OEMs’ primary concern of price by producing its sensor for an estimated cost of just £500.

Oxford RF’s journey of evolving and applying its sensors begins with off-highway vehicles, focusing on construction. This will enable the team to prove the concept at comparatively low risk.