Is Ground-penetrating Radar Next for AV Sensing?

The two companies pursuing ground-aimed radar for autonomous vehicles have different ideas about readiness for the mass market.

Most of the existing autonomous-vehicle (AV) localization strategies try to replicate how human drivers perceive the world. But reliable autonomy requires new approaches, argues Tarik Bolat, the chief executive of WaveSense. “Technologists need to widen the aperture of what data is available to the vehicle and not just replicate how humans drive,” he said. Bolat's solution is to use stepped-frequency, continuous-wave ground-penetrating radar to peer into a place where human eyes can't, up to 10 feet (3 m) into the ground.

WaveSense and its competitor, Geographical Survey Systems, Inc. (GSSI) both use technology developed by MIT's Lincoln Laboratory and deployed in 2013 to help American troops in Afghanistan avoid landmines. Both companies modified the MIT technology to enhance its performance for automotive applications.