Mangaluru: A startup incubated at NITK-STEP and founded by a faculty member successfully designed and tested a short-range frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) radar and pulsed doppler radar.Sri Shasha Prayathi Technologies Private Limited, a startup founded by Srihari Pathipati, associate professor in the electronics and communication department, successfully designed and tested these radars.The radars were designed and developed indigenously at NITK Surathkal, for both defence and civilian applications. They work by sending out radio waves and measuring the signals that bounce back from target objects. Thus, the radars detect the target and determine the position, distance, and speed of the target even in fog, rain, and darkness.During testing, the FMCW radar and pulsed doppler prototypes successfully detected moving cars at a specified range, with results verified using ground truth measurements. This radar technology has critical applications in defence sector, including radio frequency missile seekers, anti-drone radars, navigational radar, due regard radar, C-band radio altimeters, perimeter surveillance systems, low-probability-intercept (LPI) radars, fog-penetration radars and drone-mounted radars.According to the founder, the design also supports enhancements for multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) drone detection radars to strengthen aerial surveillance capabilities. With a technology readiness level (TRL) between 6 and 7, this development marks a major milestone towards deployable radar systems that can meet the strategic defence and civilian needs of the country.
