In 2017, the FCC and global RF regulators unveiled the 76-81GHz frequency range for automotive radar applications. This paved the way for the creation of high-resolution radars at a reduced size of one-third compared to the earlier 24GHz radars, while maintaining similar angular resolution.
Many companies are engaged in a race to develop this technology, including a renowned electric vehicle manufacturer. Earlier this year, the company reintroduced radars for their FSD (Full Self-Driving) Hardware 4.0 upgrade.
Setting itself apart, Silicon Valley-headquartered Altos Radar offers real-time, onboard computed, LIDAR-like point clouds via a readily available product. The radar boasts extended-range detection capabilities and produces a point cloud containing up to 3,000 points per frame at a rate of 10 fps.
Accelerates commercialisation of 4D imaging radars
Now, the automotive radar startup, has raised $3.5 million in seed funding. The round was led Hesai Technology CEO David (Yifan) Li, ZhenFund and Monad Ventures
The fresh funds will fast-track the commercialisation of 4D imaging radars in driver-assisted and autonomous vehicles. It will be used to mass-produce and market Altos Radar’s new high-performance 4D imaging RADAR Altos V1, which demonstrates revolutionary perception capabilities at a fraction of the cost of its competitors.
One-of-its-nd 4D imaging radar
Due to the nature of radio waves, radars outperform other types of sensors with their unique capability for far-range detection spanning hundreds of meters, instant and accurate velocity measurement, and robustness in adverse weather conditions. With high-performance 4D radars, Altos V1’s detection capacity can now achieve an unprecedented range of 500m for cars and 180m for pedestrians.
The new generation of 4D imaging radars by Altos Radar are set to play a major role in the the autonomous vehicle sensor suite. Ttraditional radars could not do achieve this status as they lack height information, low angular resolution and suboptimal signal-noise performance, which isn’t the case with the Altos V1.
Tech talents join forces
Co-founded by Li Niu, Xiaobo Li, and Michael Wu in 2023, Altos Radar is a growing radar startup committed to developing high-performance 4D imaging radars at an economical price point. The team at Altos Radar are proven experts in electronics design, signal processing algorithms, compute optimization, and radar perception in autonomous vehicles, having held leading R&D positions at Hitachi, ZF, Huawei, and Pony.ai, as well as in the autonomous driving departments of Apple and Lyft.
