Ambarella Unveils World’s First Centrally Processed 4D Imaging Radar Architecture for Autonomous Mobility Systems - Seite 3

This cost-effective, software-defined centralized architecture also enables dynamic allocation of the CV3’s processing resources, based on real-time conditions, both between sensor types and among sensors of the same type. For example, in extreme rainy conditions that diminish long-range camera data, the CV3 can shift some of its resources to improve radar inputs. Likewise, if it is raining while driving on a highway, the CV3 can focus on data coming from front-facing radar sensors to further extend the vehicle’s detection range while providing faster reaction times. This can’t be done with an edge-based architecture, where the radar data is being processed at each module, and where processing capacity is specified for worst-case scenarios and often goes underutilized.

These two different approaches to radar processing are summarized in the following table…

Competing Edge-Processed Radar	Ambarella’s Centralized Radar Processing
Constant, repeated radar waveforms without regard for environmental conditions	Oculii AI software algorithms dynamically adapt radar waveforms to surrounding environment
MMIC + edge radar processor in module	MMIC-only in “radar head”
Radar detection processing in radar module	Radar detection processing in central processor
Multiple terabits per second, per module of radar data (too large to transport and process centrally)	6x bandwidth reduction for radar data transport
1+ to 2 degree resolution	0.5 degrees of joint azimuth and elevation angular resolution
High power consumption, due to 1000s of antenna MIMO channels used by each radar module	Low power consumption, due to order of magnitude fewer antenna MIMO channels (6 transmit x 8 receive antennas in each processor-less MMIC radar head)
No dynamic processing allocation (specified for worst-case scenarios)	Dynamic allocation of CV3’s processing resources, based on real-time conditions, between sensor types and among sensors of same type
Slow processing speeds	CV3 is up to 100x faster than traditional edge radar processors

CV3 marks the debut of Ambarella’s next-generation CVflow architecture, with a neural vector processor and a general vector processor, which were both designed by Ambarella from the ground up to include radar-specific signal processing enhancements. These processors work in tandem to run the Oculii advanced radar perception software with far higher performance, including speeds up to 100x faster than traditional edge radar processors can achieve.