STDA018 November   2025 IWRL6432AOP

 

  1.   1
  2.   Abstract
  3. 1Introduction
  4. 2Why Use TI 60GHz Radar
  5. 3Radar Benefits for Thermostat
    1. 3.1 Saving Energy
    2. 3.2 People Tracking and Screen Wake Up
    3. 3.3 Compact and Exquisite Appearance
    4. 3.4 False Detection Filtering with AI
  6. 4TI Design and Resource Helps Quick Evaluation
    1. 4.1 TI Radar Device and Resource
    2. 4.2 TI Reference Design about Radar
  7. 5Summary
  8. 6References

2 Why Use TI 60GHz Radar

mmWave radar systems transmit electromagnetic wave signals by TX antennas. When the signals touch the objects in a path, the signal reflects. The mmWave Radar systems RX antennas capture the reflected signal, and calculate the range, velocity and angle of the objects.

The Range, Velocity and Angle of The Objects Figure 2-1 The Range, Velocity and Angle of The Objects

Compared to PIR (Passive Infrared Sensor), PIR sensor can only detect the motion of people in an area and are sensitive to the range of area. mmWave radar can not only detect people but also track precisely where objects are in a 3D environment and count the number of people in an area to improve space utilization for thermostats. Other features such as gesture recognition, fall detection and false detection mitigation help to improve the end users experience with smart thermostats.

Nowadays more RF sensors use 60- and 77GHz radio bands instead of 24GHz frequency bands. The main reason is that 60GHz has richer point-cloud data and better range and velocity resolution. For more information, see Choosing 60-GHz mmWave sensors over 24-GHz to enable smarter industrial applications.

Table 2-1 Comparison Table of Radar RX, TX Numbers and PIR
Feature 2TX, 3RX 1TX, 1RX PIR Remarks
Presence and Range Detection
Major motion		 ✓ ✓ ✓ FOV and how far away the person is from the sensor. PIR cannot detect distance
Presence and Range Detection
Minor motion		 ✓ ✓ × Can a person remain detected with little to no movement. PIR cannot detect minor motions
False Detection Mitigation ✓ × × More RX TX provides doppler, height, size, angle, and location better classification and filtering to mitigate false detection
Localization ✓ × × More RX TX provides zone occupancy detection – precise location of the person. 1*1 can only provide distance & presence in 1D
Tracking ✓ × × More RX TX provides predictive and historical direction.
Gesture Classification ✓ ✓ × Left to Right, Right to Left, Up to Down, Down to Up, Clockwise Twirl, Counterclockwise Twirl, Shine. Toward to sensor. Away from sensor
Vital Sign ✓ ✓ × More RX TX measures multi-person heart/breath rate from various locations. 1*1 limited to single person, no other movement and subject is at boresight of sensor

× = Not possible, ✓ = Limited usability