World’s first coin-cell battery operated radar system

Written by Mike Benson

March 30, 2020

Overview

The XM122 IoT Module from Acconeer is a low power connected radar module with optimized circular form factor with a diameter of 33mm.

This IoT module integrates the A111 Pulsed Coherent Radar and the Nordic nRF52840 System on Chip that supports a 32-bit 64 MHz ARM® Cortex™-M4 CPU with 256 KB SRAM and 1 MB Flash including support for Bluetooth 5, Bluetooth mesh, Thread, Zigbee, 802.15.4 and ANT. The XM122 IoT module features integrated 2.4 GHz antenna and support for external 2.4 GHz antenna.

The XM122 IoT module has been developed as a reference module that can be used to support customers in their own design for commercial use, as well as for evaluation and development purpose with the XB122 breakout board.

The XM122 can be used as a stand-alone module where customers can embed their application on top of the Acconeer RSS (Radar System Software) using the RSS API (Application Programming Interface). It can also be used with an external host controller where communication to the module is through a register command protocol using one of the following interfaces: SPI, I2C, UART.

The Acconeer RSS including a Software Development Kit (SDK) for stand-alone usage is available for download to the XM122 via the Acconeer developer page. An exploration Tool which helps visualize the radar measurement results can also be downloaded at Acconeer Github.

XM122 APPLICATIONS:

  • High precision distance measurement with mm accuracy and high update frequency

  • Tank level measurement

  • Waste bin level measurement

  • Presence detection

  • Parking lot sensing

  • Relative measurement with µm accuracy

XM122 KEY FEATURES:

  • Sensor Type: A111 60 GHz pulsed coherent radar (PCR)

  • Size: 33mm diameter

  • MCU: ARM® Cortex™-M4 CPU Nordic nRF52840

  • Programming interface: SWD/JTAG interface for SW Flash and debug

  • Software: Module software, SDK, and Exploration tool available for download

  • Board connector: Slim 30-pin board-to-board connector

  • Measures absolute range: Depends on object and application, typical max range between 0.5-10 m

  • Multiple objects: Yes

  • Half Power Beam Width (HPBW): 40° / 80°

  • Need for open or visible aperture: No

  • External Interfaces: SPI, UART, I2C, GPIO, Reset

  • Power supply: Wide single supply operating voltage range: 2.0V to 5.5V

  • Power consumption: <0.07mW @0.1Hz sweep rate, incl BLE advertising

  • Operating temperature: -40°C to +85°C

Documentation:

Interested? Email us at sales@glyn.com.au

Information extracted from acconeer.com (link)

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