Compact mmWave radar for autonomous platforms.
MMWAVE CORE
Modern threats are tiny, fast and hard to detect. They have minimal heat signatures, and are nearly impossible to see. We are rising to meet this threat by pioneering mmWave radar for cUAS, UAS and navigation.
Unlike optical and IR sensors and IR, mmWave radar is agnostic to light conditions and does not need a heat signature.
BotBlox’s mmWave imaging Radars are tiny modular radars designed to augment traditional EO and IR cameras, providing a new sensing modality.
Works in any weather
Rain, fog, smoke, dust: minimal degradation in detection performance.
Day and night
Works in direct sunlight or in pitch black.
Range, velocity, and angle
Three data dimensions, minimal processing required.
Sensor
Works in Darkness/Fog
Detects Velocity
Can detect cool objects
Form factor complexity
Output type
Camera
—
Not directly
✓
Tiny, simple
RGB image
LiDAR
✓
Not directly
✓
Large, complex
Point cloud
IR
✓
Not directly
No
Small - simple
Image
mmWave Radar
✓
✓
✓
Small - simple
Range, Velocity, Angle
Our modular design allows different Radar antenna "lenses" to be swapped from an interface baseboard, allowing swappability between long range - narrow FoV and short range - wide FoV.
Parameter
Value
From tracking airborne targets in fog to navigating ground obstacles at midnight, the Radar Core was designed around four operational requirements that cameras and LiDAR consistently fail to meet:
all-weather detection, simultaneous range and velocity output, 24/7 operation without illumination, and a 40 × 40 mm footprint that fits inside the platform.
The Radar Core ships with firmware that outputs clean detection data over Ethernet, USB, or CAN — no radio calibration, no antenna tuning. Your team gets sensor data, not a signal-processing project.
Common questions about BotBlox RADAR
What protocol does the radar output data on?
BotBlox mmWave Radars output structured data containing range, velocity, angle and timing data on USB 2.0 and 100BASE-T. This data does not require any further processing, and can be parsed directly into control software
Does it require external RF calibration or antenna tuning?
The antenna board you use fixes the max theoretical gain and FoV. Specific noise sensitivities, integration gain and velocity/range resolution needs to be tuned for the application. BotBlox provides software to make the tuning process easy, along with example tuning parameters for common applications that remove a lot of the guesswork, but expect to do tuning yourself to get the best performance. This is a little different to a camera, radar needs tuning.
What is the maximum detection range?
Maximum range and FoV is fixed by the specific BotBlox Antenna (lense) board you use. Specific sensing range depends heavily on the object being detected. Our narrow field antenna can achieve up to 200 meters detection for a 0.5m² target, with correct radar tuning. Our wide field antenna can achieve up to 40 meters for a 0.5m² target.
Can it be used for counter-drone (cUAS) applications?
Yes, in both an offensive and defensive capacity. Offensive target tracking means detecting a UAS as soon as possible, which favours a longer range (and thus narrower FoV). Defensive target tracking favours a wider FoV to detect an incoming aggressor (and thus a decreased range). Both applications benefit from the preformatted, easy to parse data that BotBlox mmWave Radars output, and the benefits that mmWave Radar offers over image sensors.
How do I interface with BotBlox Radars in hardware and software?
USB2.0 and 100BASE-T for data streaming and configuration. A BotBlox API provides easy software integration for tuning and unpacking received data.
How do I power it?
5V to 60V DC with protection. Compatible with 1S LiPo, 4S LiPo, 12V vehicle bus, and 48V power rails.
How do I synchronize measurements from this radar with other sensors on my platform?
BotBlox Radars expose special logic level input pins that can be used to trigger a measurement. The Radar can then be operated in a trigger mode. The timing can then be inferred from the main controller that also triggers the other sensors.
