This is crazy, I was literally searching for a comprehensive overview of all the available sensors, even reviewing some of your earlier videos. I couldn't find anything that had complete coverage, here you are. Incredible timing! Thanks!
Hello Andreas, thanks for the great overview of radar sensors and your understandable and simple explanations about radar. We are a Swiss company what develops and manufactures radar sensors in the 24 and 60GHz range for various applications. Some of them already have signal processing on board and would fit perfectly into your test portfolio. If you are interested in an independent evaluation, we would be happy to provide you with evaluation kits.
I have also used RFbeam's radar sensors for a university drone tracking and classification project and found them to provide great performance. Detection of small consumer drones @ up to 10m range for the K-LD7 module. Would highly recommend you get your hands on one of their kits!
@@xeofpv1252 I am trying to do similar for my university project I am about to start. Is there a way I can contact you to discuss a bit about your project please? I have been speaking to Acconeer but they said my project idea would be very difficult with their A121 evaluation kit and multiple sensors. It sounds like the K-LD7 will do what I am hoping a lot better. It will be nice to get some info about it before spending all the money on the sensor. Thank you
@@raabtube I can give you some info but it was a while ago now. I think I used the K-LD7 evaluation kit which came with the cable and drivers. I then used the python driver developed by nickovs to pull off the raw fft data from the sensor for classification. Then I used the onboard angle and range measurements that the sensor performs to help determine location of the drone. All of this was done with just using the sensor, a few servos and a raspberry pi 4b. Depending on the drone it could detect it at up to 10m but was best at around 5m. I gathered a custom dataset with spectrograms of different drones and then trained a custom CNN on the data for classification. Hope this helps!
@@xeofpv1252 Thank you so much for replying!!! What you did sounds pretty cool. I was actually speaking to their tech support today about this concept. From what I gather so far the LD7 sensor only operates in one plane, so to get a full 3D solution I would need two of them and then do the math to formulate both azimuth and elevation. Did you use the servos to manipulate the sensor? Was that a way of getting a 3D fix with a single sensor? I had originally thought of having a rotating sensor like you always see the ATC radars, but thought it would be simpler to just point at a static section of the room.
As always, excellent material. I am right now building indoor positioning system using multiple ld2450, also I connected LD2410 with LD2450 and it works great - best of both worlds: X,Y from LD2450 and stationary objects detection from LD2410.
A while back, I did some pretty promising experiments using the RFBeam K-LD2 putting together a traffic counting monitor / data logger using this module together with a Pi PICO, an SD card slot module and some bits and bobs. It has onboard FFT, a serial interface and supports metering receiding and approaching targets simultaneously. The quality of readings were pretty good and within a plausible range of precision.
LD2410 is supported by tasmota, too (need to compile an own version). For use with a shelly it's necessary to modify the module and bridge the voltage regulator.
Hello Andreas. Thank you very much for the incredible overview about actual low cost radar sensors. You talk about FMCW sensors but beside this there is also the possibility to use FSK for distance measurement. There is a Swiss company what develops and sells different 24GHz and also 60GHz sensors including signal processing. The K-LD2 for example is a simple movement detector what can also measure the speed and direction of persons up to 15m. The K-LD7 uses in addition an FSK modulation and has 2 RX antennas what allows for an angle and distance output besides the speed and direction measurement. They also released a very small 60GHz FMCW distance sensor called V-LD1 what can be combined with a plastic lens to focus the beam. It has a very low power consumption and is perfect for IoT tank level gauging applications. I think these sensors could be a great addition to your presented overview.
Thanks for this video, you convinced me so i bought a number of these sensors LD2410c. I am anxious to see how they operate! First project will be for my bathroom to check presence and then turn on the lights. Also temperature and humidity sensors will be used to control the heating and air refreshment.
Great video Andreas! The timing was perfect since our company is just now starting to explore automotive sensor modules for a non automotive application.
I was also interested in these sensors. But they were not well documented and quite expensive... I thought, maybe we can use sensors from old or crashed cars.
Hi-Link also has the LD 306 S that is a dedicated vehicle speed sensor. $36 USD. It works well and more than 5 metres but only gives speed. I also got that one and wrote a driver for it. The only down side is it is 12V and rs485 serial. I just used a boost converter and 485 driver from the esp32 5V usb lines to drive it. I always wanted to know the speed of the cars out front of my place. I also set this up on an espcam but have not got to writing the code to capture photos. (I also got a 5MP camera module that is meant to be compatible with the espcam ribbon}.
Thanks for sharing your experience. I wanted to include it in my test, but they said that it is obsolete. So hopefully, we will get a replacement (with more range, of course).
I bought LD306S. I didn't manage to work with RS485. BUT I took an output from opamp ( i soldered a small cable) and output it to an microcontroller running FFT. It works very very good! My goal is to measure tennis balll speed. If you need it for such applicatiom, you should give it a try. By the way, thank you Andreas for your excellent presentation and info that you are sharing. Just i wish i found your video before i bought some and different radars sensor for testing (might have saved some money)
I'm subscribed but don't watch the videos incredibly often, but the area where this channel shines is this kind of in-depth, incredibly informative videos. While I watch this channel less than other electronics channels with a different type of content, it's almost certain that a virtual visit to Andreas Spiess will be in order when I'm working on a project or when I'm at the component/module selection stage.
Great video Andreas! One slight point I will make, the sensors can be powered by batteries, just for a shorter time period. I recently used the LD2410B connected to a 10,000 maH powerbank for all-day presence detection, it worked a treat. They are hungry little chips though!
@gadgetgamesAU @AndreasSpiess - if i integrated a distance sensor (with 6m-8m range) with a bicycle light having 6000MaH battery do you think it will last for 5-6 hours in a continuous detect mode?
one small issue that might have happened with the acconeer sensor, you have mounted it at 90degrees to the ground, flipping the polarization. it might be harder for the sensor to detect objects like this, try again when the board is horizontal
I'm also wondering if the large black van in the background might be creating a very strong reflection that caused problems with sensing smaller things (bicycles, guy with Swiss accent) which were closer to the sensor. I don't know how the signal processing inside the sensor works, so maybe this doesn't matter. (Or maybe I should buy one of these sensors myself, and do my own experiments in a large soccer field with no nearby cars.)
Lower power probably means lower range. They need the power to bridge the distance and the signal lost in your body. Other than PIR where your body is the transmitter…
Thank you again Andries. Your topics are usually a few months ahead of my interest... This time you simply coincide, but still well done 😊😊 I have bought the smaller LD2420 sensors (smaller, so easy to integrate into a small device, but without the Bluetooth support, and no integration with HA/ESPHome ) They report over a UART (also used to configure) and/or give presence signal on a separate single pin for easy ON/OFF integration with a micro. Very cheap, very sensitive, and no false presence reports (like I had with earlier radar sensors) I completely don't care about no ESPHome integration. ESPHome is just another layer of abstraction (complexity) on top of basically Arduino. And its annoying as hack that every time ESPHome updates, you are expected to compile and upload all your devices built with ESPHome. ESPHome should be a separate Arduino library dealing with the HA API, that you can then use in your own Arduino projects.
Thanks for a comprehensive overview of these sensors. Worth noting that the LD2410c has a normal 2.54 pitch, much easier to work with than the tiny headers on the LD2410b. Also bonus points for footage of your cat, she should be in all your videos
Great video! 👍 Your can do improvment on your measurement methods. I saw that you got bad performance when you tested the Acconeer radar. In test range you had surrounded it with a metal bar close and a car at far range. It could create lots of clotter that the radar can hard to handle. See it as you turn on a lamp straight into a camera and then try see somthing. This is a natural limitation the radar has. Try to have a similar enviroment when you the radars. You can add clotter as test of how the radar degraded. If you stand in front of a car you will probably be invisible. Continue your good work!
I tried the XM125 from Acconeer recently. It's only ~12 euros from Mouser. What is a bit inconvenient is that it needs 3.3 and 1.8V power supply. For me, the software worked very well but this is certainly not a simple plug & play sensor. It has a lot of options to play with that influence range, resolution, update rate and gain. It helps a lot if you know Python because all their examples are written in Python. And if you want to extend the range (and narrow the beam) beyond 3-4 meters, you need a lens that is sold seperately. In addition to all of this, you could tweak the software that is running on the sensor itself (it has an onboard STM Cortex M4 microcontroller) but that's probably beyond of what most people would want to do.
I was going to make an automatic door bell for people walking to the house with a module. However the dog does it for free. She has good ears and a loud bark!
Hi, I'm not sure you'll read this but I'll give it a try. I'm looking to make a home made radar altimeter to attach under an experimental aircraft. I really only need it to measure distance for about the last 10 to 20 meters. (count down to touchdown) . The aircraft would be moving at about 60 knots (100km per hr). Could you make a recommendation on which of the radars you reviewed would be best suited. Or possibly steer me in the right direction. Thanks for your content. Very informative.
According to the datasheet, the XM125 sensor should be able to give you this info: 20m range, and very fast detection. But, as shown, I was not successful in proving it :-(
I do not know if golf balls contain conductive material (and therefore can be detected by radar). In addition, the max distance of 8m is for large objects like humans.
Brilliant comparison! Thanks a lot! The sleeping sensors are amazing, one even was able to measure my heartrate. Wonder if you will do tests with those as well😊
Hello Andreas, thanks fo a great video! I have two questions: 1. Can any of them track multiple targets as Aquara fp2? 2. Do they work also after covering the board? Eg. 3D printed plastic, or at least paper? Thanks!
I did not check the "multiple target feature. Some of the datasheets have clear recommendations on which material for covers is good and its distance from the sensor.
The ld2450 can track and give x y positions for 3 targets. My code sends them all to mqtt and a nodered module can detect them in boxes. I have pet plastic from bottles covering mine.
excellent as usual, Andreas. I have some of the tiny sensors I got from aliexpress without knowing in depth what the others did, but glad I got presence detection working and was so easy to setup. I didn't like that you have to get the extra wires in order to use them comfortably. but they are truly a nice piece of hw becoming available for so cheap. looking forward to the next videos on these topics
My biggest problem with PIR sensors is they will false trigger on temperature events (like the sun moving across my lawn). These would be great. What I think would be extremely useful would be a sensor that had a wide but narrow detection pattern. I.e. I don't really need to be looking at the sky or ground. Just something that is focused more linearly.
Hello Andreas! Great video! I'm also into electronics and have a small blog, and I'm currently also into radar sensors. And I would like to talk about some interesting models: HLK-LD306s can measure the speed of cars at a distance of up to 150 meters, its cost is about 35 dollars, MS72SF1 is capable of tracking up to 10 targets, it costs only 25 dollars.
I would probably pick up a MS72SF1 to try, but all their documents seem to be behind a 'contact us' wall. It does not say anything on their page about tracking 10 targets. I have the HL-LD306s, it's great aside from the RS485 and 12V supply. I have it outside my place.
Hello Andreas! Great video as always. I have been looking into radar Imaging and 3d mapping lately. Do you have any recommendations of what type of sensors I should invest in? Thanks.
You'll want to look up "Synthetic-aperture radar (SAR)" to understand how 3d radar mapping is accomplished. It typically requires a moving platform to achieve higher resolution.
@@AerialWaviator Thanks. I have come across couple of references to SAR imaging. I will look into it. Do you know of any consumer/IOT radar sensors that are capable of doing SAR imaging?
One has to mention the contribution of the French to magnetron development who flew to England to give their prototypes to the British a few days before the German troops occupied Paris. Most of these engineers contributed to the effort of radar development in the US during the war.
Great comparison! Currently I'm playing around with LD2410 and LD2411 with ESP32 in Home Assistant. (And I'm about to introduce LD2420 to the setup) Both sensors report the distance to a detected object, although the comparisson matrix says is unsupported. I haven't been testing it's precision as it's not relevant to me. There's just one question I'm trying to answer with my test setup: How sensitive are they for interference, especially with 2 (or more) sensors close to each other. How should I test this in a reliable way? Do you have any tips?
I haven't seen much detail on these, but, if they use pulsed transmission, with gated receiving chains, they should have relatively few pseudo-random interference... Just an "educated guess" 😼
Great video! Can you suggest some sensors for using outdoor in garden area? I tried whole line of LD2410 and also RCWL but all them are unstable when grass or trees is near(((
at 8:45 I can't be the only one that said to himself "damn that looks straight from Aliens - the marines Motion tracker". Now that would be sick project : D
Great video. You mentioned the XM125 is a fast chip, but the data sheet only mentions 10hz. Is that considered fast in these low cost radar chips? Are there none closer to 100hz that can be used to measure higher order kinematics like acceleration/force/power?
They do vibration measurement with the sensor (ua-cam.com/video/bb4grto4A24/v-deo.htmlsi=3kdJ1hsCe9HeXXBx ). So the sampling rate must me quite high in this mode... I did not try it.
Hi Andreas, Thanks for the amazing video...can one of these radars be used to map a room with precise measurements or do we need to use LIDAR+Camera visiion?
@@AndreasSpiess TBH it is, for example multiple LD2450 we can deduce it, knowing that the maximum speed of a person is S, so we know that point that changed too fast means - two persons, etc. Adjusting radar readings by angles, sizes, and resolution to distance we also can compute it, find common points. LD2450 can detect up to 3 targets, and LD2461 up to 5 targets. The only issue is that we do not have access to raw data, and data returned from radars are already processed, it makes everything much more complicated, there are some filters, approximations, and other formulas used that distort everything.
Hi Andreas! Thank you so much for the video. Coincidentally I was just shopping for some mmWave sensors, and this was really helpful! Quick question (for anyone): are there sensors that can do angular position? There is mention of this on the DRRobot's mmwave, and some other sensors, but looking through the code libraries, there is no function for outputting angular position. Thoughts? Thanks!
I only get x/y from the ld2450, from which I can convert to an angle. Maybe others do but the firmware on the other Hilink ones I have only give distance and sometimes power. The ld2450 also has multiple targets
@@AndreasSpiess Great! This guy already did some review (ua-cam.com/video/VE62MAQDuCw/v-deo.html) - but in comparison to the others would be interesting!
Thank you for the review. Would be grateful for your comments on sensors that would be best suited to detect small animals the size of rats under automobiles. Have only been slightly successful trying to use PIR501s. Regards and thanks.
Hello, thank you for the impressive information. Actually I am working in detecting human presense behind wall for search and rescue applications. I wonder if seeed sensors 24ghz/60ghz can be suitable for this application. Regards
Since the 77Ghz automotive units work so well and are so common, maybe buying a used one from a junkyard and learning canbus interface would be a fun way to get a small radar with a long range?
I had the same idea. But unfortunately, they seem to be propretary and you do not get interface descriptions :-( Maybe somebody hacks one. For sure not easy for such complex devices.
@@AndreasSpiess Hmmm.....I may have to get one and send it to Ben Heck....there's somebody who can figure it out for sure. I saw an aftermarket add-on lane departure 77Ghz unit for motorcycles which used non-proprietary asics; perhaps that unit could be repurposed?
Have you looked at any 4D high density radar sensors? Arbe Robotics manufactures some of the most advanced if not the most advanced radar sensors. Sensrad is the one who does the tech/software for Arbe. It's got to be the best I've seen.
No. But looking at their homepage that is a very different segment. They have increadible capabilities! However, they are probably not made for the average maker with a tight budget...
muy interesante y completo el análisis, por otro lado, su ingles es tan trasparente que casi lo entiendo al escucharlo. muchas gracias por subir este material. estoy interesado en los sistemas que detecta respiración, pulso , y otros signos vitales, creo que hay varios módulos además del MH60BHA..(que hacen lo que tienen que hacer ).
I never investigated into this matter. But they sell 60GHz sensors that promise to be able to detect breathing rate. They are not too expensive. So maybe you test one of them?
Very interesting thank you, I am looking to build some home assistant presence sensors and this confirms using LD2410. I plan to directly connect to the Esp32, I’ve heard that sometimes these sensors send so much data over Bluetooth that it swamps the receiver. Is there a benefit of the 2410C over B? I think it has 4 receivers rather than 1 but I’m not sure
I wonder if one could use these cheaper sensors with an external reflective antenna, maybe try feeding one of them into an old satellite TV antenna? These are for 24 GHz range, I think, might make a usable range extender in an application that could accept the size, or, maybe, something like a headlamp reflector, one of the larger round ones... I've used headlamp and driving lamp reflectors for long range IR sensors, easily detect a 60 W incandescent lamp at >100 m... Just a thought. Thanks for doing this "first pass" work for us! The 🇨🇦 🐻❄️ In 🇩🇪
@@AndreasSpiess Grüßen aus 🇩🇪 Yes, one can always spend more, but an antenna solution can also bring some advantages, beyond range, but directivity, as well...anyway, Maestro, just alternative ideas.
Thank you Andreas for overview of currently available (cheap) radar sensors. I was looking for the application where radar sensor is used to measure the thickness of water film layer, needed for highway monitoring, to predict when aquaplaning could occur (with water film thicker than 0.7 mm). I need this for my lab experiments. The sensor should be buried in the asphalt, with teflon cover (something similar as IRS31Pro-UMB from LUFT, but in DIY version), and measuring range from 0.2 - 4 mm. Any suggestions?
I have just started experimenting with mmwave sensors in home assistant. One thing I have been trying to find is a way to display target information on some kind of a map. Has anything like that been created for home assistant?
Have you seen or read anything in the datasheets that suggest any of these can be used to passively work as a way of detecting the presence of similar radar signals being used?
If you use them outside, they don't work if it's raining. They just continuously report a presence. They also report a presence if a person is behind the sensor.
@@GenesisZeroTechnology I brought a range of different types from HLK, the project was to light the concrete path in the backyard as you walk along it. Starting with the smallest and simplest to test, ld2410 I soon discovered what happens when it rains.
@@AndreasSpiess OK thanks, so no good for my project. Could they be used to detect water/waste pipes in the ground or are they very limited as indoor people detectors?
@@AndreasSpiess Hi Andreas, We have a radar board that based on TI1642 , CAN-Bus interface, 500K. Detect ragen 40m, +/-60 degree, with distance(x,y data), speed, full communication protocols. Present price is much lower than before, it's about 50-60USD/pc. By the way, I use the same lamtop for testing :)
How would one weatherproof one of these? I'd like to mount one outside... not sure what can be placed in front of the antennas and not affect performance.
I think it would be nice if you could use these sensors to take pictures of birds or insects when you think they are on front of your camera. Is it possible to detect something like a bee? When I did some experiments, I got lots of signals so I guess you need some built in cpu such that you don’t get false positives.
I do not know how big a "thing" has to be to get detected. I assume it is a function of distance and reflection coefficient (water content in animals).
LIDAR sensors have some overlap with these simple Radar Sensors. I would be interesting to see both integrated into a low-cost multispectral package to improve functionality and usefulness.
Indeed, they can be used for similar topics. The Lidars usually have a very narrow field (if you do not use the expensive moving Lidars. So they are not as good for presence detection, I think.
The guy with the Swiss accent is always the best
:-)
He has a lucky wife
This is crazy, I was literally searching for a comprehensive overview of all the available sensors, even reviewing some of your earlier videos. I couldn't find anything that had complete coverage, here you are. Incredible timing! Thanks!
Glad I could help!
Hello Andreas, thanks for the great overview of radar sensors and your understandable and simple explanations about radar. We are a Swiss company what develops and manufactures radar sensors in the 24 and 60GHz range for various applications. Some of them already have signal processing on board and would fit perfectly into your test portfolio. If you are interested in an independent evaluation, we would be happy to provide you with evaluation kits.
Another viewer already mentioned your company. Maybe you contact me on another channel. You find me on Linkedin, for example.
I have also used RFbeam's radar sensors for a university drone tracking and classification project and found them to provide great performance. Detection of small consumer drones @ up to 10m range for the K-LD7 module. Would highly recommend you get your hands on one of their kits!
@@xeofpv1252 I am trying to do similar for my university project I am about to start. Is there a way I can contact you to discuss a bit about your project please? I have been speaking to Acconeer but they said my project idea would be very difficult with their A121 evaluation kit and multiple sensors. It sounds like the K-LD7 will do what I am hoping a lot better. It will be nice to get some info about it before spending all the money on the sensor. Thank you
@@raabtube I can give you some info but it was a while ago now. I think I used the K-LD7 evaluation kit which came with the cable and drivers. I then used the python driver developed by nickovs to pull off the raw fft data from the sensor for classification. Then I used the onboard angle and range measurements that the sensor performs to help determine location of the drone. All of this was done with just using the sensor, a few servos and a raspberry pi 4b. Depending on the drone it could detect it at up to 10m but was best at around 5m. I gathered a custom dataset with spectrograms of different drones and then trained a custom CNN on the data for classification. Hope this helps!
@@xeofpv1252 Thank you so much for replying!!! What you did sounds pretty cool. I was actually speaking to their tech support today about this concept. From what I gather so far the LD7 sensor only operates in one plane, so to get a full 3D solution I would need two of them and then do the math to formulate both azimuth and elevation. Did you use the servos to manipulate the sensor? Was that a way of getting a 3D fix with a single sensor? I had originally thought of having a rotating sensor like you always see the ATC radars, but thought it would be simpler to just point at a static section of the room.
Thank you, Dishka, for encouraging your human to perform the tests.
:-)) I will tell her.
As always, excellent material.
I am right now building indoor positioning system using multiple ld2450, also I connected LD2410 with LD2450 and it works great - best of both worlds: X,Y from LD2450 and stationary objects detection from LD2410.
Sounds great!
does the LD2450 give you both x and y cords or you need two to get both
tryna build a CIWS type project and can use some advise
@@tankman1320 both for up to 3 targets
Never mind I need the height axis and that's not just x and y which one would clearly provide
A while back, I did some pretty promising experiments using the RFBeam K-LD2 putting together a traffic counting monitor / data logger using this module together with a Pi PICO, an SD card slot module and some bits and bobs. It has onboard FFT, a serial interface and supports metering receiding and approaching targets simultaneously. The quality of readings were pretty good and within a plausible range of precision.
Thank you for sharing your experience!
Sleep analyzing radars sound like an interesting topic! Looking forward to a video on that
Thanks for your feedback!
ua-cam.com/video/61fmBTjTI_8/v-deo.html
Please make a video about sleep monitoring radars, I've been needing them lately to monitor an elderly person
It is on my list!
ua-cam.com/video/61fmBTjTI_8/v-deo.html
LD2410 is supported by tasmota, too (need to compile an own version). For use with a shelly it's necessary to modify the module and bridge the voltage regulator.
Good to know. Thank you!
Hello Andreas. Thank you very much for the incredible overview about actual low cost radar sensors. You talk about FMCW sensors but beside this there is also the possibility to use FSK for distance measurement. There is a Swiss company what develops and sells different 24GHz and also 60GHz sensors including signal processing. The K-LD2 for example is a simple movement detector what can also measure the speed and direction of persons up to 15m. The K-LD7 uses in addition an FSK modulation and has 2 RX antennas what allows for an angle and distance output besides the speed and direction measurement. They also released a very small 60GHz FMCW distance sensor called V-LD1 what can be combined with a plastic lens to focus the beam. It has a very low power consumption and is perfect for IoT tank level gauging applications. I think these sensors could be a great addition to your presented overview.
Indeed, they have a wide range of sensors. Thank you for the info. I did not know this company.
Thanks for this video, you convinced me so i bought a number of these sensors LD2410c. I am anxious to see how they operate! First project will be for my bathroom to check presence and then turn on the lights. Also temperature and humidity sensors will be used to control the heating and air refreshment.
Good luck with your project!
Great video Andreas! The timing was perfect since our company is just now starting to explore automotive sensor modules for a non automotive application.
I was also interested in these sensors. But they were not well documented and quite expensive... I thought, maybe we can use sensors from old or crashed cars.
Why is it every time i watch your videos I get inspired so much to dive deeper in such things ? As always great work.
Happy to hear that!
I've been wanting to buy one of these for a long time, this video is what will push me over the edge, thanks :)
I hope you will be glad with your chioce!
Hi-Link also has the LD 306 S that is a dedicated vehicle speed sensor. $36 USD. It works well and more than 5 metres but only gives speed. I also got that one and wrote a driver for it. The only down side is it is 12V and rs485 serial. I just used a boost converter and 485 driver from the esp32 5V usb lines to drive it. I always wanted to know the speed of the cars out front of my place. I also set this up on an espcam but have not got to writing the code to capture photos. (I also got a 5MP camera module that is meant to be compatible with the espcam ribbon}.
Thanks for sharing your experience. I wanted to include it in my test, but they said that it is obsolete. So hopefully, we will get a replacement (with more range, of course).
@@AndreasSpiess It's my understanding the replacement will be the same in some sort of box. I'll get that one when it comes out.
I, too, have always been interested in measuring the speed of passing cars, I even bought a couple of police radars for this.
@originalmianos I would like to find out more information about your speed detection project..!
I bought LD306S. I didn't manage to work with RS485. BUT I took an output from opamp ( i soldered a small cable) and output it to an microcontroller running FFT. It works very very good!
My goal is to measure tennis balll speed. If you need it for such applicatiom, you should give it a try.
By the way, thank you Andreas for your excellent presentation and info that you are sharing. Just i wish i found your video before i bought some and different radars sensor for testing (might have saved some money)
An excellent example of good technical content - presented succinctly and factually, and with a clear understanding of the audience needs.
Thank you for your kind words!
I'm subscribed but don't watch the videos incredibly often, but the area where this channel shines is this kind of in-depth, incredibly informative videos. While I watch this channel less than other electronics channels with a different type of content, it's almost certain that a virtual visit to Andreas Spiess will be in order when I'm working on a project or when I'm at the component/module selection stage.
Thank you for your kind words!
Timely, I was just looking at these modules … thanks for the review
Glad I could help!
Great video Andreas! One slight point I will make, the sensors can be powered by batteries, just for a shorter time period. I recently used the LD2410B connected to a 10,000 maH powerbank for all-day presence detection, it worked a treat. They are hungry little chips though!
I agree.
@gadgetgamesAU @AndreasSpiess - if i integrated a distance sensor (with 6m-8m range) with a bicycle light having 6000MaH battery do you think it will last for 5-6 hours in a continuous detect mode?
@@nisheelpoddar6886 Sure
Excellent as always, Andreas. Thanks for the overview!
My pleasure!
I was searching for this video for a long time. And finally it's here ❤
:-)
one small issue that might have happened with the acconeer sensor, you have mounted it at 90degrees to the ground, flipping the polarization.
it might be harder for the sensor to detect objects like this, try again when the board is horizontal
Thank you for the info! Maybe somebody from the company is a viewer of this channel ;-)
I'm also wondering if the large black van in the background might be creating a very strong reflection that caused problems with sensing smaller things (bicycles, guy with Swiss accent) which were closer to the sensor. I don't know how the signal processing inside the sensor works, so maybe this doesn't matter. (Or maybe I should buy one of these sensors myself, and do my own experiments in a large soccer field with no nearby cars.)
Ps. I also read HILink are bringing out a lower power one. As you said. They all chew a lot of juice. They also get quite warm
Lower power probably means lower range. They need the power to bridge the distance and the signal lost in your body. Other than PIR where your body is the transmitter…
It would be cool to see a phased array of these cheap sensor for beam steering
Not simple because these chips do not dispose a lot of the RF signals. But maybe in a later stage, they will be developed.
One of them already does this. The infineon one has 1tx and 3rx antennas! You do need to be a bit of a radar expert to make use of it though 😅
From what I read in the documentation, simply placing two sensors in close proximity will not work because of interference between the RF signals.
Thank you again Andries.
Your topics are usually a few months ahead of my interest...
This time you simply coincide, but still well done 😊😊
I have bought the smaller LD2420 sensors (smaller, so easy to integrate into a small device, but without the Bluetooth support, and no integration with HA/ESPHome )
They report over a UART (also used to configure) and/or give presence signal on a separate single pin for easy ON/OFF integration with a micro.
Very cheap, very sensitive, and no false presence reports (like I had with earlier radar sensors)
I completely don't care about no ESPHome integration.
ESPHome is just another layer of abstraction (complexity) on top of basically Arduino.
And its annoying as hack that every time ESPHome updates, you are expected to compile and upload all your devices built with ESPHome.
ESPHome should be a separate Arduino library dealing with the HA API, that you can then use in your own Arduino projects.
I have a few sensors using ESPhome. But I have to confess: I do not upgrade sensors if they work ;-)
Danke für deine Arbeit an diesem Vergleich.
best youtube channel ever, thanks Andreas, keep it goinggggg
Thank you for your kind words!
Thanks for a comprehensive overview of these sensors. Worth noting that the LD2410c has a normal 2.54 pitch, much easier to work with than the tiny headers on the LD2410b. Also bonus points for footage of your cat, she should be in all your videos
Indeed, the headers are a bit of a pain. I did not look at the LD2410c. So, thank you for the addition.
Ld2410c also has Bluetooth. Although I found that bt connection of ld2410b/c are not very stable with homeassistant.
Great video! 👍 Your can do improvment on your measurement methods. I saw that you got bad performance when you tested the Acconeer radar. In test range you had surrounded it with a metal bar close and a car at far range. It could create lots of clotter that the radar can hard to handle. See it as you turn on a lamp straight into a camera and then try see somthing. This is a natural limitation the radar has.
Try to have a similar enviroment when you the radars. You can add clotter as test of how the radar degraded. If you stand in front of a car you will probably be invisible. Continue your good work!
Thank you for your tip!
Waw, very impressive and amazing how fast this technology is evolving! Great video, makes me want to start tinkering right away!
Indeed, it is mindboggling how cheap this stuff has become!
I tried the XM125 from Acconeer recently. It's only ~12 euros from Mouser. What is a bit inconvenient is that it needs 3.3 and 1.8V power supply. For me, the software worked very well but this is certainly not a simple plug & play sensor. It has a lot of options to play with that influence range, resolution, update rate and gain. It helps a lot if you know Python because all their examples are written in Python. And if you want to extend the range (and narrow the beam) beyond 3-4 meters, you need a lens that is sold seperately. In addition to all of this, you could tweak the software that is running on the sensor itself (it has an onboard STM Cortex M4 microcontroller) but that's probably beyond of what most people would want to do.
Thank you for the additional info. Maybe they added now some things to enhance its usability. 12 Euros is a good price!
I was going to make an automatic door bell for people walking to the house with a module. However the dog does it for free. She has good ears and a loud bark!
A dog is always better for such purposes. But you have to walk her several times a day ;-)
Does your dog run on air? Dog food is not free
Hi, I'm not sure you'll read this but I'll give it a try. I'm looking to make a home made radar altimeter to attach under an experimental aircraft. I really only need it to measure distance for about the last 10 to 20 meters. (count down to touchdown) . The aircraft would be moving at about 60 knots (100km per hr). Could you make a recommendation on which of the radars you reviewed would be best suited. Or possibly steer me in the right direction. Thanks for your content. Very informative.
According to the datasheet, the XM125 sensor should be able to give you this info: 20m range, and very fast detection. But, as shown, I was not successful in proving it :-(
@@AndreasSpiessThanks for the quick reply. It'll probably take me 12 months but I'll drop you a note if I succeed :)
Thank you for this video! At the end you mentioned power of 100ma, @12v? @5v? Or @3.3v?
The Hi-Link ones are 5V.
That xm125 would be great for golf ball speeds. Aliexpress has a 60 Ghz ms72sf1 for 21 dollars and a command set up sheet page.
I do not know if golf balls contain conductive material (and therefore can be detected by radar). In addition, the max distance of 8m is for large objects like humans.
Brilliant comparison! Thanks a lot! The sleeping sensors are amazing, one even was able to measure my heartrate. Wonder if you will do tests with those as well😊
You never know on this channel because the "owner" is not good in planning ;-)
YES++ pretty please with sugar on top :) for the sleep sensor comparison!
Hello Andreas, thanks fo a great video! I have two questions:
1. Can any of them track multiple targets as Aquara fp2?
2. Do they work also after covering the board? Eg. 3D printed plastic, or at least paper?
Thanks!
According to the specsheets the LD2420 should be able to track up to 3 targets simultaniously. 24GHz radars can detect through plastic and paper.
I did not check the "multiple target feature. Some of the datasheets have clear recommendations on which material for covers is good and its distance from the sensor.
The ld2450 can track and give x y positions for 3 targets. My code sends them all to mqtt and a nodered module can detect them in boxes. I have pet plastic from bottles covering mine.
excellent as usual, Andreas. I have some of the tiny sensors I got from aliexpress without knowing in depth what the others did, but glad I got presence detection working and was so easy to setup. I didn't like that you have to get the extra wires in order to use them comfortably. but they are truly a nice piece of hw becoming available for so cheap. looking forward to the next videos on these topics
Indeed, the pricing of this technology is unbelievable for me!
Great stuff ... would appreciate if you could make a video about collision avoidance detection radars ... and a Happy New Year !
These devices are quite expensive and not well documented because they usually are sold in large quantities to OEMs. At least I did not find one.
Amazingly thorough. Thank you!!
You are welcome!
My biggest problem with PIR sensors is they will false trigger on temperature events (like the sun moving across my lawn). These would be great.
What I think would be extremely useful would be a sensor that had a wide but narrow detection pattern. I.e. I don't really need to be looking at the sky or ground. Just something that is focused more linearly.
Indeed, these are not influenced by temperature.
Hello Andreas! Great video! I'm also into electronics and have a small blog, and I'm currently also into radar sensors. And I would like to talk about some interesting models: HLK-LD306s can measure the speed of cars at a distance of up to 150 meters, its cost is about 35 dollars, MS72SF1 is capable of tracking up to 10 targets, it costs only 25 dollars.
I would probably pick up a MS72SF1 to try, but all their documents seem to be behind a 'contact us' wall. It does not say anything on their page about tracking 10 targets.
I have the HL-LD306s, it's great aside from the RS485 and 12V supply. I have it outside my place.
@@originalmianosI have a DM-19 sensor, it is capable of measuring speed, but only at a distance of up to 15 meters.
@@mahnotv8871 I'll have to get serious and measure the range of the LD306 this week. I only had it firing up one lane. I should publish it.
@originalmianos I would also be interested in its range.
Nice video but at the end I would expect some simple table with results of each sensor. Now I really don't know :(
There is a link to the table shown in hte video in the description.
Hello Andreas! Great video as always. I have been looking into radar Imaging and 3d mapping lately. Do you have any recommendations of what type of sensors I should invest in? Thanks.
I have no knowledge in this field :-(
Potentially RadarIQ? They seem to be developing some nice solutions including imaging
Thanks. I'll look into it!
You'll want to look up "Synthetic-aperture radar (SAR)" to understand how 3d radar mapping is accomplished. It typically requires a moving platform to achieve higher resolution.
@@AerialWaviator Thanks. I have come across couple of references to SAR imaging. I will look into it. Do you know of any consumer/IOT radar sensors that are capable of doing SAR imaging?
I'm definitely interested in your respiration sensor investigation. Hope we see that soon if you do it!
Thanks for your feedback.
One has to mention the contribution of the French to magnetron development who flew to England to give their prototypes to the British a few days before the German troops occupied Paris. Most of these engineers contributed to the effort of radar development in the US during the war.
Good to know. Thank you!
Thanks for radar sensor knowledge!
You are welcome!
Great comparison!
Currently I'm playing around with LD2410 and LD2411 with ESP32 in Home Assistant. (And I'm about to introduce LD2420 to the setup) Both sensors report the distance to a detected object, although the comparisson matrix says is unsupported. I haven't been testing it's precision as it's not relevant to me.
There's just one question I'm trying to answer with my test setup: How sensitive are they for interference, especially with 2 (or more) sensors close to each other. How should I test this in a reliable way? Do you have any tips?
I did not do any tests with more than one sensor (our rooms are pretty small) :-(
I have 3 in a large room, facing different directions but I don't seem to see any issues.
I haven't seen much detail on these, but, if they use pulsed transmission, with gated receiving chains, they should have relatively few pseudo-random interference... Just an "educated guess" 😼
Another great video
Thanks for sharing your knowledge, so we find the best Radar sensors in the marked :-)
You are welcome!
Great video! Can you suggest some sensors for using outdoor in garden area? I tried whole line of LD2410 and also RCWL but all them are unstable when grass or trees is near(((
I never tried them outdoors. Gras contains water that is detected.
at 8:45 I can't be the only one that said to himself "damn that looks straight from Aliens - the marines Motion tracker". Now that would be sick project : D
:-))
Thanks for the hint on XM125 ;-)
You are welcome!
Great video. You mentioned the XM125 is a fast chip, but the data sheet only mentions 10hz. Is that considered fast in these low cost radar chips? Are there none closer to 100hz that can be used to measure higher order kinematics like acceleration/force/power?
They do vibration measurement with the sensor (ua-cam.com/video/bb4grto4A24/v-deo.htmlsi=3kdJ1hsCe9HeXXBx ). So the sampling rate must me quite high in this mode... I did not try it.
I love this channel so much
Thank you!
Hi Andreas, Thanks for the amazing video...can one of these radars be used to map a room with precise measurements or do we need to use LIDAR+Camera visiion?
I think you need a Lidar. Or you move one of those sensors around the room and try to sketch the dimensions...
Great video. Thank you.
Do you think if it's possible to know how many people are detected?
No, this is not possible with this technology.
@@AndreasSpiess TBH it is, for example multiple LD2450 we can deduce it, knowing that the maximum speed of a person is S, so we know that point that changed too fast means - two persons, etc. Adjusting radar readings by angles, sizes, and resolution to distance we also can compute it, find common points. LD2450 can detect up to 3 targets, and LD2461 up to 5 targets.
The only issue is that we do not have access to raw data, and data returned from radars are already processed, it makes everything much more complicated, there are some filters, approximations, and other formulas used that distort everything.
Hi Andreas! Thank you so much for the video. Coincidentally I was just shopping for some mmWave sensors, and this was really helpful! Quick question (for anyone): are there sensors that can do angular position? There is mention of this on the DRRobot's mmwave, and some other sensors, but looking through the code libraries, there is no function for outputting angular position. Thoughts? Thanks!
The ones from Hi-link all deliver some sort of angular information. However, I am not sure if it is available in HA.
I only get x/y from the ld2450, from which I can convert to an angle. Maybe others do but the firmware on the other Hilink ones I have only give distance and sometimes power. The ld2450 also has multiple targets
Thank you so much you too! Appreciate the input. Will check out the ld2450. Thanks!
Hello Andreas - thank you for the detailed video! But why don't you test the LD1125? Should be a good sensor too.
I do not remember, but I contacted the manufacturer and asked them for the current models.
@@AndreasSpiess Great! This guy already did some review (ua-cam.com/video/VE62MAQDuCw/v-deo.html) - but in comparison to the others would be interesting!
Andreas, thanks for the video. Since I'm in the Automotive ADAS field, what about using a front Adaptive Cruise Control Long Range Radar sensor ?
That would be great. But I heard that the communication is not open and rather complex.
Im waiting for the 60 GHZ video there is a ton more applications for this than the others. I'm waiting the prices come down to buy one myself
They for sure will come down in price over the years!
Would be nice to compare this to radars that are found on boats.
As a Swiss, I do not have (or need) a boat. So somebody else have to do this comparisons. But I assume they are very different.
Thank you for the review. Would be grateful for your comments on sensors that would be best suited to detect small animals the size of rats under automobiles. Have only been slightly successful trying to use PIR501s. Regards and thanks.
I think this video shows a suitable sensor at 8:09, part number Dishka 😁
I can imagine these sensors can detect rats on a short distance. But you have to try. Or maybe an IR camera with movement detection.
Very nice video Spiess! Would you recommend any of these sensors for water level measurement (since human body is just a bunch of water)? Thanks mate!
I assume all would work. But I did not try.
Hello, thank you for the impressive information. Actually I am working in detecting human presense behind wall for search and rescue applications. I wonder if seeed sensors 24ghz/60ghz can be suitable for this application. Regards
You have to check if the range is big enough and the walls do not contain shieldung materials.
Acconeer must use focus lens to achieve 20m range on large target. Person is shorter range and no lens is shorter range too.
Thanks Pro regards from Holland
You're welcome!
What are your recommendations for detecting distance in real time to water surfaces, waves? Less than 5m overall range is okay
A lot of people use ultrasonic sensors for that purpose.
Since the 77Ghz automotive units work so well and are so common, maybe buying a used one from a junkyard and learning canbus interface would be a fun way to get a small radar with a long range?
I had the same idea. But unfortunately, they seem to be propretary and you do not get interface descriptions :-( Maybe somebody hacks one. For sure not easy for such complex devices.
@@AndreasSpiess Hmmm.....I may have to get one and send it to Ben Heck....there's somebody who can figure it out for sure. I saw an aftermarket add-on lane departure 77Ghz unit for motorcycles which used non-proprietary asics; perhaps that unit could be repurposed?
@@guerrillaradio9953 Time will tell...
Have you looked at any 4D high density radar sensors? Arbe Robotics manufactures some of the most advanced if not the most advanced radar sensors. Sensrad is the one who does the tech/software for Arbe. It's got to be the best I've seen.
No. But looking at their homepage that is a very different segment. They have increadible capabilities! However, they are probably not made for the average maker with a tight budget...
@@AndreasSpiess They would be used on self driving cars
muy interesante y completo el análisis, por otro lado, su ingles es tan trasparente que casi lo entiendo al escucharlo. muchas gracias por subir este material. estoy interesado en los sistemas que detecta respiración, pulso , y otros signos vitales, creo que hay varios módulos además del MH60BHA..(que hacen lo que tienen que hacer ).
Recientemente, aparecieron muchos radares de 24 y 60 GHz que detectaban la respiración, etc., pero nunca investigué sobre este asunto.
I am a senior citizen and am making a breath and heart rate and sleep detection device. Can you recommend an sdk or a sensor. Many thanks 🙏
I never investigated into this matter. But they sell 60GHz sensors that promise to be able to detect breathing rate. They are not too expensive. So maybe you test one of them?
Very interesting thank you, I am looking to build some home assistant presence sensors and this confirms using LD2410.
I plan to directly connect to the Esp32, I’ve heard that sometimes these sensors send so much data over Bluetooth that it swamps the receiver.
Is there a benefit of the 2410C over B? I think it has 4 receivers rather than 1 but I’m not sure
According to my list, they use different chips. But I do not know the difference.
I wonder what modules are used for radar speed control for cars. They seem to function for 50 to 75 metres.
There are more expensive radar detectors with larger range available.
I wonder if one could use these cheaper sensors with an external reflective antenna, maybe try feeding one of them into an old satellite TV antenna? These are for 24 GHz range, I think, might make a usable range extender in an application that could accept the size, or, maybe, something like a headlamp reflector, one of the larger round ones... I've used headlamp and driving lamp reflectors for long range IR sensors, easily detect a 60 W incandescent lamp at >100 m... Just a thought.
Thanks for doing this "first pass" work for us!
The 🇨🇦 🐻❄️ In 🇩🇪
It is always possible to use a dish to focus the energy. But maybe it would be easier to invest in a "bigger" sensor with more range.
@@AndreasSpiess Grüßen aus 🇩🇪
Yes, one can always spend more, but an antenna solution can also bring some advantages, beyond range, but directivity, as well...anyway, Maestro, just alternative ideas.
Thank you Andreas for overview of currently available (cheap) radar sensors. I was looking for the application where radar sensor is used to measure the thickness of water film layer, needed for highway monitoring, to predict when aquaplaning could occur (with water film thicker than 0.7 mm). I need this for my lab experiments. The sensor should be buried in the asphalt, with teflon cover (something similar as IRS31Pro-UMB from LUFT, but in DIY version), and measuring range from 0.2 - 4 mm. Any suggestions?
I have no idea if something like that works. But I think you would need access to RSSI rather than just presence for such an application.
Thank you for your videos sir !!!
My pleasure!
I have just started experimenting with mmwave sensors in home assistant. One thing I have been trying to find is a way to display target information on some kind of a map. Has anything like that been created for home assistant?
I do not know :-(
Some of 60GHz has lots of problem fog. rain ........ they tried them for cars but they ended up with lots of problems with goasts targets.
Is 77GHz better in this respect?
dose wifi affect the 2.4GHz radar sensor?
These sensors work on 24GHz, not on 2.4
Hey, I'm wondering if you were able to get the HiLinkDemo to work for the LD2450 and where you found the software tool?
If it is not in the video, I did not test it. And I left a link in the description to the test tool.
Have you seen or read anything in the datasheets that suggest any of these can be used to passively work as a way of detecting the presence of similar radar signals being used?
No.
Silicon Radar gmbh makes some great products in this area
Thanks for the info!
Guten Morgen, das tönt sehr interessant
Ist es auch ;-) Die Dinger können nützlich sein wenn man sich nicht bewegt...
Do these modules, (whose rays are directed into the outdoors), also detect people/animals when it rains?
I did not try :-(
What behind the wall radar sensor do you recommend?
Very useful! Thank you.
You're welcome!
Do you think these radars could work for an altitude measurement for a RC plane? If not, what do you recommend?
If you only need a 5m range they should work.
If you use them outside, they don't work if it's raining. They just continuously report a presence. They also report a presence if a person is behind the sensor.
Have you tried these yourself? Which sensors are you talking about
@@GenesisZeroTechnology I brought a range of different types from HLK, the project was to light the concrete path in the backyard as you walk along it. Starting with the smallest and simplest to test, ld2410 I soon discovered what happens when it rains.
Rain is water and water is what these sensors detect in our bodies. So what you describe is perfectly understandable.
@@AndreasSpiess OK thanks, so no good for my project. Could they be used to detect water/waste pipes in the ground or are they very limited as indoor people detectors?
@@orac229 These waves are reflected by conducting material. But attenuated by other material. So, in general, you have to try to be sure.
Great video! Thanks!
Glad you liked it!
Hi! You seem to have missed out on covering TI radars. They do a pretty good job for as low as $4
Well possible. I now went to their homepage but only found chips, no modules. Where do I find these $4 modules?
@@AndreasSpiess I meant the chips are as low as $4. Module are more expensive
@@AndreasSpiess Hi Andreas, We have a radar board that based on TI1642 , CAN-Bus interface, 500K. Detect ragen 40m, +/-60 degree, with distance(x,y data), speed, full communication protocols. Present price is much lower than before, it's about 50-60USD/pc. By the way, I use the same lamtop for testing :)
@@alexlintech6995 Including antenna? Where can I get it?
Great video! why don't you do some GPR tests also?
What is "GPR"?
@@AndreasSpiess ground penetration radar
@@FadhilOmer So far, I have no such plans.
How would one weatherproof one of these? I'd like to mount one outside... not sure what can be placed in front of the antennas and not affect performance.
You should find some information on that matter in the datasheet of the HiLink sensors
What is the longest range of these RADARs
As shown: A few meters. Depends a lot on the size and the conductivity of the object to detect.
I think it would be nice if you could use these sensors to take pictures of birds or insects when you think they are on front of your camera. Is it possible to detect something like a bee? When I did some experiments, I got lots of signals so I guess you need some built in cpu such that you don’t get false positives.
I do not know how big a "thing" has to be to get detected. I assume it is a function of distance and reflection coefficient (water content in animals).
Very interesting. Thank you.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Do you know which sensor is being used in the Garmin Varia or similar bicycle radar clones. Battery life tends to be around 7 hours for these.
I also wondered because of its extremely long range, but I do not know.
@@AndreasSpiess when mine dies I will open it up
Could you do a video about GPS rtk receivers/transmitters?
Yes. Planned. Board is on my table.
@@AndreasSpiess Nice!
There are radar sensor module support external antenna
I do not think so. At least not in this price range.
LIDAR sensors have some overlap with these simple Radar Sensors. I would be interesting to see both integrated into a low-cost multispectral package to improve functionality and usefulness.
Indeed, they can be used for similar topics. The Lidars usually have a very narrow field (if you do not use the expensive moving Lidars. So they are not as good for presence detection, I think.
I need one of those, good to make a turret )))
Just buy one ;-)