CARLSBAD, Calif., Sept. 14, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Metawave Corporation, a world leader in high-end sensing and perception solutions for terrestrial and aerospace mobility applications, today announced the successful demonstration of the sensing industry’s first highly-integrated, front-end Antenna in Package (AiP) modules. The Metawave SPEKTRA^TM AiP module utilizes the company’s MARCONI^TM beamforming integrated circuits (ICs) which are manufactured and produced in volume by US-based GlobalFoundries Inc. (GF), a global leader in feature-rich manufacturing. The AiP-Marconi integrated modules are manufactured and mass-produced by Amkor Technology.

First 76-81 GHz industry SPEKTRATM Antenna in Package (AiP) Modules with Metawave MARCONI™ Beamformer chips for software-defined radar and communications applications.

“We are excited to see Metawave’s modular, semiconductor-based approach redefine the way next-generation radar systems are built,” said Kamal Khouri, vice president of Automotive at GF. “GF’s feature-rich silicon germanium solutions allow GF and Metawave to offer world-class performance for Advanced Automotive Radars. Our proven silicon germanium solutions are optimal for long range, ultra-high performance 77-81 GHz imaging RADAR and have been used in multiple generations of vehicles.”

The new SPEKTRA AiP module is key in the realization of Metawave’s high performance hybrid analog beam-steering and MIMO radar for long-range imaging. SPEKTRA AiP enables the seamless implementation of Metawave’s 76-81GHz MARCONI^TM beamforming chips with Texas Instruments’ cascaded AWR2243 transceivers, and NXP’s best-in-class S32R45 microcontroller in the Metawave 4D imaging radar architectures.

“Since the company’s inception, Metawave has worked on developing radar technology that blends the best characteristics of phased array and digital MIMO techniques to provide distinct advantages over our competitor’s approaches,” said Metawave CTO, Andy Bonthron. “The result is high-performance, all-weather semiconductor and system solutions that solve core problems facing very large markets, allowing for safer ground and aerial mobility.”

“With all the hype surrounding the 4D imaging sector, the industry’s focus has been on optical sensors and a centralized compute software stack — leaving key high-performance radar sensors for global defense organizations out of reach,” said Metawave CEO and founder, Maha Achour. “Metawave has bridged this gap. Our radar solutions not only fill in the missing all-weather reliability disparity in ADAS lidar and camera sensor offerings, but also offers high resolution and large field of view at long ranges that no competitor can achieve. We believe our products will help drive the $3B aerial and $10B automotive markets to higher levels of automation in the future.”

Metawave’s Radar Technology Milestones
Metawave develops advanced aerial and automotive imaging radar technology that enables unmatched long-range and point-cloud resolution making vehicles safer and smarter. The company’s SPEKTRA^TM radar platform is the first to integrate best-in-class analog and digital MIMO signal processing, with resolution capable of distinguishing objects that are close to each other, in difficult driving scenarios, long ranges, and in all-weather conditions. Metawave’s unique radar architecture and algorithms also use a fraction of the processing required by other all-digital radar implementations or lidars, enabling the radar processing to be done at the edge.

Metawave’s other recent and notable technology “firsts” have led to the company’s involvement in a number of deployments for the commercial sector, as well as ground and aerial sensing and perception for the defense sector. Milestones include:

• FIRST to develop, demonstrate and ship the “Missing Chip” – the Metawave 16-channel 77GHz beamforming MARCONI^TM chip for automotive long-range radar
• FIRST to combine speed with resolution and range (including elevation) at low cost by combining Analog Radar, Digital Radar and AI/ML
• FIRST to develop, demonstrate, and test with customers electronically steerable 77GHz automotive radar using Texas Instruments’ transceiver and MCU chipsets
• FIRST to develop and demonstrate Machine Learning (ML) platform for real-time radar object classification (AI perception engine) in 2021

“Mandates and safety award programs have significantly increased the need for reliable detection and perception solutions for terrestrial and aerospace mobility applications. The increasing use of these technologies will drive the ADAS market at a CAAGR of 16.5% over 2021 to 2026^[1],” said Mark Fitzgerald, Director, Autonomous Vehicle Service, at Strategy Analytics. “Addressing this market demand, imaging radar with its high resolution and large field of view at long ranges and during adverse weather conditions, represents a real tipping point in automotive imaging radar sensing technology that will make ADAS-equipped vehicles measurably safer.”

^[1]  Strategy Analytics Advanced Driver Assist Systems Forecast 2022

Metawave will be displaying the SPEKTRA AiP solution from September 14-25, 2022, at the North American International Detroit Auto Show Startup Exhibit area located within the AutoMobili-D (AMD) Technology Showcase.

About Metawave Corporation - Metawave is pioneering disruptive millimeter wave technologies that accelerate the transition to highly automated and fully autonomous ground and aerial vehicle operation meeting safety and emerging services goals. With its patented, high-resolution all-weather imaging SPEKTRA radar modules, and associated software stacks, Metawave is delivering the missing sensor with unmatched long-range sensing and perception based on novel machine learning and AI to automotive, tracking, trains, aerial and drone customers. Its SPEKTRA radar is the first automotive analog beam steering radar with resolution capable of distinguishing objects close to each other, in difficult driving scenarios and in all-weather conditions, making cars safer and smarter. Metawave TURBO™ active repeaters and KLONE™ passive reflectors enable faster, more efficient, and lower cost 5G deployments, bringing connectivity to billions of users both indoors and out. Metawave's AWARE™AI object classification platform is the first demonstration of real-time radar object classification. Founded in 2017, Metawave is headquartered in Carlsbad, CA. Visit us at www.metawave.com, email us at info@metawave.com, and follow us on Twitter @metawavecorp, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

Metawave PR Contact:
Lynda Kaye
lynda.kaye@metawave.com

Metawave, the Metawave logo, and all Metawave product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of Metawave in the U.S. and other countries. The company names, product names, system names, etc. described in this article are registered trademarks and trademarks of each company and each organization.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/dc0c4717-a72e-4bd9-b618-55e1516e52e7 

Metawave SPEKTRA(TM) Antenna in Package (AiP) Module

Industry first: Metawave 76-81GHz SPEKTRA(TM) Antenna in Package (AiP) Modules with Metawave MARCONI™ Beamformer chips for software-defined radar and communications applications.