Vayyar’s in-cabin safety combo solution aims to aid carmakers to meet Euro NCAP’s upcoming criteria

Israel-headquartered Vayyar, a leading player in 4D imaging radar, is advancing its solution for the auto industry with its first in-cabin safety ‘combo’ solution. Powered by a single sensor, Vayyar’s Radar-on-Chip (RoC) is designed to prevent both the ‘hot car’ incidents that have claimed the lives of thousands of children as well as the countless deaths and injuries caused by vehicle occupants neglecting to wear seat belts. By providing OEMs and Tier 1s multifunctionality on a single-chip platform, Vayyar is aiming to provide an affordable, leading-edge safety for all vehicle models.

The company says as part of the global effort to improve in-car safety, Euro NCAP is introducing stricter scoring criteria across all protocols, starting in 2023. Child Presence Detection (CPD) will be worth up to four points, while the existing requirement for front and rear Seat Belt Reminders (SBR) will become a precondition for achieving three additional Occupant Status (OS) points. Vayyar’s solution enables vehicles to earn these crucial seven safety points, while enhancing user experience by minimising false alarms.

It says enhanced safety, however, usually demands more sensors, which come at a high price to automakers. Around 22 billion sensors are fitted in vehicles every year, with IHS Markit predicting a 40% increase in sensor-related costs from 2018 to 2030. On this trajectory, and in light of rapidly rising safety standards, a mainstream car model will require around 200 sensors by 2030. Hardware, software, wiring, ECUs and integration efforts surrounding each sensor greatly increase complexity and costs, making high-end safety unattainable for value-oriented vehicles.

Vayyar says it is enabling OEMs and Tier 1s to overcome this challenge with the industry’s first in-cabin safety solution that delivers multifunctionality on a single-chip platform. The technology firm has developed a cost-efficient sensor that’s as affordable as low-end alternatives, production-ready and designed to enable maximum in-car safety points for all vehicle models.

It is powered by a single Radar-on-Chip (RoC), Vayyar’s application-ready ‘combo’ features CPD and enhanced SBR, addressing multiple Euro NCAP 2023 requirements with just one sensor for the entire cabin. It replaces numerous existing in-car sensors, covering a full vehicle cabin and detecting and classifying all occupants for exceptionally precise CPD. The combo solution operates effectively in all lighting conditions without requiring line of sight and can even detect a baby in a car seat sleeping under a blanket or a child in a footwell. Unlike cameras, the sensor also maintains user privacy at all times, an area of growing concern across the auto industry.

The application combo is possible by the platform’s large antenna array and ultra-wide field of view. The sensor’s 48 transceivers offer unprecedented high resolution for rich detection and classification data about occupants - in sharp contrast to what alternatives offer. Thanks to its field of view, the sensor, is also simple to fit behind a vehicle’s headlining, can be installed in various locations, accommodating both five- and seven-seaters, as well as sunroof-equipped models. The sensor delivers is said to deliver an entirely new level of safety, with the ability to differentiate between people and objects, and children and adults, as well as determine whether a passenger is in/out of position.

In addition to the CPD + SBR combo, the end-to-end software-hardware platform also enables OEMs and Tier 1s to seamlessly develop multiple advanced applications independently over its point cloud layer. These include Occupant Status (OS), optimised airbag deployment and dynamic disabling, seat belt pre-tensioning, eCall, vital signs, gesture recognition, out-of-position detection, intruder detection and more.

One Vayyar sensor ensures a shorter time to market, reduces the number of future SOP programs, yields substantial savings and lowers risks associated with scheduling, budget and performance. The fully validated, automotive-grade (AEC-Q100 qualified and ASIL-B compliant) sensor also grants automakers the flexibility to scale to future features developed to meet evolving standards. These can be introduced early in the development cycle, or, in an industry first, at a later date via over-the-air (OTA) updates, ensuring future-proof deployments.

Ian Podkamien, head of automotive at Vayyar said: “Now more than ever, safety is top-of-mind right across the industry. That’s why automakers are reassessing many traditional approaches, like using dozens of single-function sensors to support key safety applications. Multifunctionality on a single-chip platform is a new paradigm that’s ready to redefine how people think of the in-cabin ecosystem. We’re proud to offer first-rate safety for less cost to all vehicles, including entry-level models."