The Consumer Technology Association (CTA) has released an open API standard to support and facilitate the development and implementation of interoperable radar sensing systems which, like NFC-enabled technologies, can be used to add contactless and hands-free functionalities to devices across a wide range of use cases.
The standard — known as Ripple — aims to “enable interoperability between radar hardware and software with standardised APIs for radar system development” and “reduce barriers for entry for working with radar and accelerate the growth of radar applications,” the CTA says.
Potential use cases for such radar-enabled applications include contactless healthcare and fitness monitoring, home security and detection systems based on human activity recognition, and hands-free interaction with cars, mobile devices, domestic appliances and other consumer electronics.
“Radar sensing systems have historically been designed for single applications, with hardware and software custom-developed for each purpose. This means that traditional product solutions — from the hardware to the final user experience — are bespoke,” the CTA explains.
“This new standard will enable general purpose radar interoperability by developing both specifications for open and standardised APIs and a collaborative plan to drive industry adoption of the standard.”
“With an open API standard, it’s easier for integrators to get started, develop and distribute radar solutions. This reduced barrier to entry will lead to new products and services for consumers,” the association adds.
“Ripple will enable developers to create specialised extensions so that they can build on the standard to support their own differentiated use cases. These extensions can be incorporated as official interfaces in future versions of the standard.”
The standard will also “simplify experimentation, making radar more accessible to students, startups, academics and researchers”.
The CTA has developed Ripple in collaboration with technology providers and other industry partners including Aptiv, Blumio, Ford, Google, Infineon, NXP and Texas Instruments.