MIPI Alliance Forms Kinematics Working Group to Standardise Radar and Lidar Data

The MIPI Alliance, an international organisation that develops specifications that standardise wired interfaces for mobile and other connected ecosystems, announced the formation of a Kinematics Working Group focused on the development of a specification to standardise the format of kinematic sensor data streams transported over the broadly implemented MIPI CSI-2 camera and imaging interface.

Kinematic sensors include radar, lidar and other types of sensors designed to measure the motion, position, velocity or acceleration of an object and typically complement the use of other image sensors in applications such as automotive, robotics and aerospace where positioning data is critical.

Although today’s radar and lidar systems often leverage the MIPI CSI-2 interface, these systems typically represent the sensor “chirp” data in proprietary ways. The forthcoming MIPI Kinematic Streaming Format (MIPI KSF) specification is intended to harmonise these various approaches and standardise the representation of “raw” unprocessed kinematic data immediately following its digitisation. In terms of the typical hardware-software stack, the kinematic sensor data would sit as an application layer above the CSI-2 protocol layer and could be used with MIPI physical layer (PHY) specifications and other MIPI-authorized PHYs.

The first version of the KSF specification is focused on radar systems that transmit raw sensor data for centralised processing, offering both lower cost and the opportunity to leverage new AI and machine learning capabilities that operate on the raw sensor data.

Beyond the initial specification, the group will also explore radar-based, 6G-integrated sensing and communications (ISAC) use cases, as well as use cases that leverage lidar, ultrasonic and other kinematic sensor technologies. A conformance test suite and supporting documents such as white papers and FAQs will also be developed for the new streaming format.

“With the expanding use of radar and lidar sensors, MIPI member companies recognised the need to bring a standardised solution based on centralised processing to the industry,” said Rick Wietfeldt, interim lead of the MIPI Kinematics Working Group. “By building on MIPI’s broad camera ecosystem, this solution can offer a unified approach that can reduce system costs and integration challenges.”

The working group also invites collaboration with other standards organisations to collectively address the diverse requirements and market needs for the growing breadth of kinematic sensor application areas.

Member companies participating in the group include: Infineon Technologies AG; Intel Corporation; LG Electronics, Inc.; LG Innotek; Mixel, Inc.; NXP Semiconductors; Qualcomm Incorporated; Robert Bosch GmbH; Samsung Electronics, Co.; Silvaco, Inc.; Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation; STMicroelectronics; Synopsys, Inc.; Texas Instruments Incorporated; Valens Semiconductor and others.

MIPI Contributor member companies in the radar, lidar and related sensor ecosystem are encouraged to join the group.