In Chapter #18.2 of La Nova Mobilitat, we dive deep into the world of electromagnetic waves with a true specialist: Sergi Duque. We recorded this episode back in 2023 in Catalan and used 2025 tools to translate the episode to English while keeping the voice tones of the original interview.
After exploring Lidar and Cameras in previous episodes, Miquel and Martí sit down with Sergi—a Telecommunications Engineer with nearly 20 years of experience in the field, from the German Aerospace Center (DLR) to Magna and Huawei—to demystify Radar.
From satellite imaging to the sensor hidden behind your car's bumper, we analyze why this technology remains the industry standard for measuring speed and distance.
👇 In this episode we discover:
📡 Radar 101 & The Doppler Effect: What actually is Radar? We break down the acronym (Radio Detection And Ranging) and explain how chirps and frequency modulation work. Plus, we use the classic ambulance siren analogy to explain how the Doppler effect allows cars to instantly calculate the speed of objects around them.
🛰️ From Space to the Street: Sergi explains the concept of SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar). We discuss how satellites use the earth's rotation to create high-resolution maps and how that same physics applies (or doesn't apply) when trying to integrate radar into a moving car.
👶 Heartbeats inside the Car: It’s not just about Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC). We look at In-Cabin Monitoring, a rising application where sensitive radars detect the breathing and heartbeat of passengers to prevent tragic accidents, such as leaving a child behind in a locked vehicle.
🎨 Design vs. Physics: The eternal struggle between car designers and engineers. We discuss the challenges of hiding radars behind painted bumpers for aesthetics without blocking the signal, and how metallic paints are a radar's worst enemy.
🔮 Tesla vs. The Industry: While the general industry is moving towards more sensors (Lidar + Radar + Cameras), Tesla famously removed radar to rely on "Vision Only." We debate the risks, the problem of signal interference in a traffic jam full of radars, and the future of autonomous driving sensors.
🤝 Sponsorship and Support
If you want to support the project you can do so through patreon.com/LaNovaMobilitat. A special thanks to our patrons:
* Xavier Anzuela.
* Aitor Querol.
* Marc Esquius.
* Mariano Moya.
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* La Nova Mobilitat © 2022 by Miquel Testar & Martí Pascual is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. The opinions expressed in this podcast are personal to the producers and guests and not of the companies they work for. La Nova Mobilitat is supported by Fulls d'Enginyeria of Enginyers Industrials de Catalunya.
* The track "Future Calm" by penguinmusic has been used respecting the Creative Commons CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license.
