CASCADE project

4D radar with a cascaded architecture for object detection and tracking

Name: CASCADE — 4D Imaging Radar on TI AWR2243 (4-chip cascade, 350 m)
Brand: CASCADE

A prototype built on TI's multi-chip AWR2243 (RF-EVM) cascade and the MMWCAS-DSP-EVM capture module. The radar "sees" through darkness, fog and smoke where optics and lidar fail — making it suitable for autonomous platforms, perimeter security and search-and-rescue missions.

Technical specifications Join the team

350 m

detection range

12 TX / 16 RX

transmitters / receivers

virtual MIMO channels

drag to rotate

Why radar, not a camera or lidar

Microsecond-long 76–81 GHz chirps pass through rain, dust and darkness, measuring range, angle and velocity simultaneously. Cascading several AWR2243 chips enlarges the phased antenna array's aperture, so the system sees farther and resolves objects more precisely than an ordinary single-chip sensor.

Choose the radar variant

REC · Hardware rotation capture

360° RF BOARDS

AWR2243 · MMWCAS-DSP-EVM 360° view of the cascaded RF boards

Prototype hardware

Hardware platform

4 × AWR2243, 76–81 GHz

Radar module

short-range radar with high angular resolution

Boards MMWCAS-RF-EVM + MMWCAS-DSP-EVM

Transmitters / receivers 12 TX / 16 RX

Virtual MIMO array 86 channels

Processing DSP board (TDA2)

Detection range and cost

Based on TI data

Estimated detection range for different object types and the approximate cost of the prototype boards.

Detection range · FPV drone ~50–90 m

Detection range · person 150 m

Detection range · car 350+ m

Board price $4,275 + $3,844.65

How it works

From chirp to object coordinates

Chirp transmission

Antennas on the board form a frequency-modulated 76–81 GHz signal aimed at the object within a 120° azimuth sector.

Cascaded reception

Four synchronized AWR2243 chips receive the reflected signal as a single phased antenna array.

DSP capture

The MMWCAS-DSP-EVM reads raw ADC data and raw data from the DSP FPGA board, then performs further processing.

Object data output

Range, angle and velocity of objects are sent over CAN-FD, Ethernet or to the host system.

Prototype in hardware

From evaluation board to a working prototype

An FMCW Image Radar assembled into a working rig, controlling a rotating platform with two optical channels based on AI object recognition via a Hailo hardware accelerator for real-time operation.

Cascaded AWR2243 RF board, top view, cut out from background — 01 · Cascaded AWR2243 RF board

Assembled MMWCAS-DSP-EVM with power indicators active, cut out from background — 02 · Assembled MMWCAS-DSP-EVM

Hailo accelerator board on a HAT+ for Raspberry Pi 5, cut out from background — 03 · Hailo accelerator on a Raspberry Pi 5

Dual-camera module on a servo gimbal, cut out from background — 04 · Dual-camera module on a servo gimbal

Field rig with a camera on a rotating platform and tripod, cut out from background — 05 · Working rig with a rotating platform

Live demonstration

Camera and radar — in sync

The first video is a synchronized capture of the camera feed and the radar's point cloud (range-azimuth) in nighttime city traffic: the radar keeps a solid lock on objects where oncoming headlights blind the camera. The second is a recording of the live 3D point-cloud viewer, showing the same data in real time and space.

REC · Live capture

02:50 RANGE-AZIMUTH