Overview
- Rice University researchers presented the EyeDAR prototype at the HotMobile workshop in late February and outlined results in a new release.
- Early tests reported more than a 200-fold speedup in resolving target direction compared with traditional radar approaches.
- A 3D-printed Luneburg lens with over 8,000 tailored elements performs analog direction-finding, reducing the need for large arrays and heavy computation.
- The device encodes what it detects by alternating between absorbing and reflecting incoming millimeter-wave signals so vehicles receive data as binary pulses, which the team likens to blinking Morse code.
- Designed for installation on traffic lights and streetlights, the low-power tag aims to catch scattered radar returns to reduce blind spots in poor visibility, with researchers proposing urban networks and noting NSF support for the work.