Occupant Monitoring using TI 60GHz mm-Wave Sensors

Students:
Raghu Kumar Darvemula
Karthik Gowda K A
Mohammed Umair
Shawn Daniel Rodrigues

Supervisor: Dr. Viswanath Talasila

Department Name : Electronics and Telecommunication

Total proposed Budget: Rs 17,483/-

Introduction and Motivation

This project presents an innovative application of Texas Instruments' cutting-edge

60GHz mm-Wave sensors to address critical safety concerns in the automotive
industry. Vehicle Occupancy Detection (VOD) and Child Presence Detection (CPD) are
paramount issues that demand robust and reliable solutions to prevent accidents and
ensure the well-being of passengers
Problem Statement and Novelty

The problem addressed in this project is the need for a real time, robust and accurate
Vehicle Occupancy Detection (VOD) and Child Presence Detection (CPD) system for
multi-row seating configurations in vehicles by using automotive grade RADAR sensors.
Objectives
● Objective 1: Development of a Real-Time Vehicle Occupancy Detection System.
The primary objective of this project is to design and implement a real-time Vehicle Occupancy Detection (VOD)
system using Texas Instruments' 60GHz mmWave sensors. The system will be capable of accurately detecting the
presence and positions of occupants in up to three rows of seats in a vehicle. By utilizing the high-resolution 3D point
cloud generated by the mmWave sensors, the VOD system will provide detailed spatial information about the vehicle's
interior, enabling precise and reliable occupant detection.
● Objective 2: Integration of Child Presence Detection (CPD) Capability.
The second objective of the project is to extend the VOD system to incorporate Child Presence Detection (CPD)
functionality. This enhancement will allow the system to specifically identify the presence of small children
within the vehicle. By employing advanced algorithms and data processing techniques in the Occupancy
Detection State Machine, the CPD capability will enable the system to distinguish child occupants from adult
occupants, ensuring enhanced safety measures for child passengers.
Prior work related to this project (if any):
● We embarked on an exploration of the
potential of TI's IWR6843ISK module,
delving into the realm of mm-Wave
sensors.
● Through meticulous testing and analysis,
we witnessed the successful
implementation of the provided
MATLAB code, leading to the expected Fig: IWR6843ISK board
output. The 3D point cloud data,
elegantly transmitted over UART,
revealed valuable insights, affirming the
functionality of the module.
● Within the domain of vehicle occupancy
detection, our endeavors proved fruitful
as the sensor's capabilities were
harnessed to ensure accuracy and
reliability.
Fig: Visualizer window indicating the point cloud and occupancy decisions.
Solution Methodology
Students must describe

a) The techniques that are proposed to be used for executing the project
i) A block diagram may be used to present the methodology
b) The experimental setup that is going to be created
c) Any benchmarks against which the project may be evaluated

Limit to two of three slides only

Note: this part is a major part of your proposal and this needs to be highly technical. This slide
must not have any general comments/discussions, motivations, advantages etc.
 Clutter Removal Doppler
RadarCube saved in FFT and higher Doppler
Range FFT in HWA
L3 bin removal 2D Capon

Solution Methodology Spectrum Calculation

Zoom-in 2D Capon
3D range azimuth
spectral calculation Detection (2-pass
elevation heatmap
and fine angle CFAR)
saved in L2
estimation

Point cloud range, Zone-mapping + State

Azimunth elevation, machine +
SNR saved in L3 classification
Solution Methodology

Fig. View of the placement of RADARs in car.

Fig: Hardware setup

Proposed Budget
Sl.
No Item Amount (In Rupees)
1. Non- Recurring IWR6843ISK Rs. 14,483/-
MMWAVEICBOOST Already Available
DCA1000EVM Already Available
2. 5V/3A Adapter x2 Nil
Recurring
Contingency Rs: 3000/-
3. Grand total Rs. 17,483/-

Justification:
IWR6843ISK is an easy-to-use 60 GHz mmWave sensor evaluation kit based on IWR6843 device with long-
range antenna. This board enables access to point-cloud data and power over USB interface. DCA1000EVM
enables access to sensor’s raw data via LVDS interface. MMWAVEICBOOST enables software development and
trace capabilities via TI’s CCS.
References
● [1] M. Alizadeh, H. Abedi and G. Shaker, "Low-cost low-power in-vehicle occupant detection with
mm-wave FMCW radar," 2019 IEEE SENSORS, Montreal, QC, Canada, 2019, pp. 1-4.

● [2] F. E. Nowruzi, W. A. El Ahmar, R. Laganiere and A. H. Ghods, "In-Vehicle Occupancy Detection

With Convolutional Networks on Thermal Images," 2019 IEEE/CVF Conference on Computer Vision
and Pattern Recognition Workshops (CVPRW), Long Beach, CA, USA, 2019, pp. 941-948.

● [3] S. -Y. Kwon and S. Lee, "In-Vehicle Seat Occupancy Detection Using Ultra-Wideband Radar
Sensors," 2022 23rd International Radar Symposium (IRS), Gdansk, Poland, 2022, pp. 275-278.

● [4] Mishra, Ashutosh, Sangho Lee, Dohyun Kim, and Shiho Kim. 2022. "In-Cabin Monitoring System
for Autonomous Vehicles" Sensors 22, no. 12: 4360