Acoustic detection and ranging (ADAR), a patented innovation by Sonair, is a new category of 3D depth sensor. It empowers autonomous robots with omnidirectional depth perception, enabling robots to “hear” their surroundings in real-time 3D - using airborne soundwaves to interpret spatial information.

ADAR is developed according to ISO13849:2023 performance level d/SIL2. The sensor creates a virtual safety shield with a range of 5 meters, that enables people and robots to share space safely. The innovation lies in combining wavelength-matched transducers with efficient signal processing for beamforming and object recognition algorithms.

Safety just got a lot simpler — and better adapted to detect people,” says Knut Sandven, CEO, Sonair. “ADAR enables 3D 360-degree obstacle detection around autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) at a significantly lower cost than the sensor packages used today, enabling AMR manufacturers to build safe and affordable autonomous robots.”

A typical 2D LiDAR safety scanner in an AMR only sees a person’s legs in one horizontal plane. In contrast, Sonair’s patented ADAR (acoustic detection and ranging) technology detects people and objects in 3D. A single ADAR sensor provides a full 180 x 180 field of view (FoV), and a 5 meters range, for the robot’s safety function.

The core technology behind ADAR has been in development at the world-renowned MiNaLab sensor and nanotechnology research center in Norway for more than twenty years. The imaging method is called beamforming; it’s the backbone of processing for SONAR and RADAR, as well as in medical ultrasound imaging, and now ready for ultrasound in-air applications.

Sonair is on track to achieve safety certification for ADAR by the end of 2025. This is an industry-first for 3D ultrasonic sensing in air.

At Sonair’s Automate booth #4710, attendees will experience first-hand how they can see themselves - and other objects - through soundwaves in the air.