Embedded Firmware Architecture for mmWave Radar Sensors
AZJ Smart firmware architecture for 60 GHz Human Presence mmWave Radar Sensor and 77 GHz Directional Motion & Zone Radar Sensor is engineered to deliver deterministic behavior, long-term maintainability, and stable operation under continuous industrial and building automation use.
Architecture Overview
The embedded firmware deployed in 60 GHz Human Presence mmWave Radar Sensor and 77 GHz Directional Motion & Zone Radar Sensor operates as the deterministic control layer between radar hardware, signal processing pipelines, and external system interfaces.
The architecture emphasizes stability, modularity, and predictable timing behavior, ensuring suitability for long-term deployment in building automation and industrial sensing environments.
Design Principles
- Deterministic task execution and timing control
- Clear separation between hardware abstraction and sensor logic
- Modular firmware components with clearly defined responsibilities
- Long-term firmware maintainability and revision traceability
- Stable operation under continuous 24/7 sensor runtime
RTOS-Based Framework
Firmware for 60 GHz Human Presence mmWave Radar Sensor and 77 GHz Directional Motion & Zone Radar Sensor is typically implemented on top of a real-time operating system (RTOS) to manage concurrent tasks and time-critical radar operations.
The RTOS layer provides scheduling, synchronization, and resource management, enabling predictable firmware behavior under varying sensing, processing, and communication loads.
Task Scheduling
Priority-based execution of radar processing, sensor monitoring, and communication tasks.
Inter-Task Communication
Message queues and synchronization primitives ensuring safe data exchange between firmware functional blocks.
Timing Control
Deterministic timing control for radar frame acquisition and signal processing pipelines.
Firmware Layer Structure
Firmware is organized into clearly defined layers to isolate hardware dependencies from sensor behavior and external system interaction.
| Layer | Function |
|---|---|
| Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL) | Direct interaction with mmWave radar ICs, peripherals, GPIOs, and low-level drivers. |
| Radar Control Layer | Configuration and control of radar operating modes, frame timing, and data acquisition behavior. |
| Signal Processing Layer | Execution of filtering, FFT processing, motion extraction, and feature generation. |
| Application Logic | Sensor-level sensing logic, state machines, and decision algorithms. |
| Interface & Communication Layer | Data output, configuration interfaces, and system integration communication. |
Radar Signal Processing Pipeline
Firmware manages the complete mmWave radar signal processing pipeline, from raw data acquisition to structured sensor-level output.
- Radar frame triggering and synchronization
- Raw ADC data acquisition
- Digital filtering and noise suppression
- Frequency-domain and time-domain analysis
- Feature extraction for motion and presence sensing
Firmware Update & Maintenance
The firmware architecture supports controlled updates and long-term maintenance across the 60 GHz Human Presence mmWave Radar Sensor and 77 GHz Directional Motion & Zone Radar Sensor lifecycle.
Version management, backward compatibility, and configuration consistency are treated as mandatory engineering requirements.
System Integration Considerations
The firmware architecture is designed to integrate predictably into higher-level control systems, exposing stable interfaces and documented sensor behavior.
This enables OEMs and system integrators to design reliable systems without dependency on undocumented firmware logic.
Architecture Boundary
Firmware responsibilities are strictly defined at sensor level. Application-level decision logic and system behavior configuration remain under the control of the system integrator or OEM.