Cheap AESA Radar

fredymac

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Actually a "MESA" radar that replaces electronic phase shifters with MEMS devices to get a 10x price/SWAP reduction. This is reminiscent of the same approach used by Butterfly IQ to make a cheap sonogram instrument. They are attracting attention for autonomous cars as well as drone applications including navigation and counter-drone hunting.
 

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  • Echodyne MESA Radar.jpg
    Echodyne MESA Radar.jpg
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Hmm is tht really AESA's ?

I did an IEEE search and found this :
https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7228355/

from that paper :
https://www.e-fermat.org/files/multimedias/Reis-MUL-EuCAP15-2016-Vol16-July_Aug-001%20Two-Dimensional%20Antenna%20Beamsteering%20.....pdf

Looks more like RADANT Lens PESA for me except that the steering elements are metamaterial based instead of diodes or phase shifters in more conventional PESA.

The radar seems to be an FMCW. based on sort of "beak" in the mid section of the antenna.

and yeah it's PESA.
https://techxplore.com/news/2016-11-echodyne-metamaterials-drone-sized-radar.html
 
Another entry in a cheap radar this time for autonomous driving. It uses a 3D printed Luneborg style emitter with 2x the range and 4x the angular resolution of current automotive radars. The emitter is shaped and roughly sized like a golf ball. It will be competing against the newest LIDAR from Velodyne called the Velobit which has a target price of $100.



Velobit $100 LIDAR
$100 Velobit LIDAR.jpg
 
I wonder if you could get a good spherical balloon with central mounted feed horn…make one side “transparent” and the inner side opposite reflective at the press of a button.

This could make that sphere a 360 degree dish.
 

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