Technical Specs (subject to change)
1.
Introduction
- Technical Brief
Walabot is a programmable 3D sensor that looks into objects using radio frequency technology that
breaks through known barriers, bringing highly sophisticated sensing capabilities to your fingertips.
Walabot uses an antenna array to illuminate the area in front of it, and sense the returning signals. The
signals are produced and recorded by VYYR2401 A3 System-on-Chip integrated circuit. The data is
communicated to a host device using a USB interface, which is implemented using Cypress controller.
The left picture shows the backside of the board, with the VYYR2401 chip, the USB controller and the
micro-USB connectors. The right picture shows the antenna array. This side should be directed towards
the objects you want to sense.
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2.
Features
Three-dimensional radio-frequency based sensor
Uses an array of linearly polarized broadband antennas
Frequency range:
Developer
o
3.3-10 GHz (US/FCC model)
o
6.3-8 GHz (EU/CE model)
Starter
o
6.3-8 GHz
Based on VYYR2401 A3 System-on-Chip for signal production and recording
Cypress FX3 controller for USB communication and data pre-processing
Walabot interface connectors:
o
Micro-USB 2.0 for high-rate data communication. Option to provide supply from USB.
o
Single supply voltage 4.5-5.5v input for non-USB power applications.
2.1
Feature summary of Starter, Creator and Developer models
Walabot Starter
3
72 mm * 48 mm
No
Yes
Yes
No
No
Yes
Yes
No
Walabot Creator
15
72 mm * 140 mm
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
No
Walabot Developer
18
72 mm * 140 mm
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Capability \ Model
Physical
Number of antennas
Board size
External powering option
Software API capabilities
Basic API functions
2D acquisition
3D acquisition
Multiport recorder (raw data)
Software application capabilities
Breathing detection
Object detection
Short range imaging
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3.
3.1
Functionality
Overview
Walabot senses the environment by transmitting, receiving and recording signals from multiple
antennas. The broadband recordings from multiple transmit-receive antenna pairs are analyzed to
reconstruct a three dimensional image of the environment. Analysis of sequences of images allows
detecting changes in the environment. Walabot is capable of short-range imaging into dielectric
environments, such as drywall and concrete.
USB
Host device
Data
acquisition
RFIC
Walabot
Environment
to be sensed
This opens the possibility to use Walabot for numerous use-cases:
In-room Imaging
In-wall imaging
Object detection, location and tracking
Change detection
Speed measurement
Motion sensing, such as breathing detection
Sensing of dielectric properties of materials
Some of these capabilities are provided within the software API of Walabot.
3.2
Software API
Walabot SDK provides shared libraries with a defined API. In addition, binding code is provided for
java and C# (JNI & pInvoke interfaces). Development of an application for Walabot can be done
either for Windows/Linux or for Android. Programming languages can be:
C#/VB/C++ for windows
C++ for Linux (future release)
Java/C++ for Android (future release)
The API functions can be grouped into following categories (subject to change):
General Initialization and configuration – common for all use-cases
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Single Target Location
Respiration and heartbeat monitoring
General Doppler speed measurement
RF Imaging
People presence monitoring
The API allows writing powerful and flexible applications easily. For example, high-level flow to get RF
image from the device is as follows:
Initialize the device
Set the input parameters – the arena dimension, resolution and medium dielectric constant.
Perform recording.
Get the resulting 3D image.
For additional information regarding API and sample code examples please refer to
http://www.api.walabot.com/
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4.
Block Diagram
Figure 2 presents a high level block diagram of the Walabot platform.
5.
5.1
Interfaces
USB Interface
The module main interface is USB for communication and configuration.
The onboard µUSB 2.0 connector supports USB 2.0 in High-Speed mode (480Mbit) and USB 3.0 in Super-
Speed mode.
5.2
Powering options
The Walabot Developer and Creator have two µUSB connectors – one is used for data transfer and
possibly powering the Walabot, and the other USB connector is for power only. Select your power
source for Walabot using the jumper on the back side of Walabot board. In the figures below you can
see the jumper position for powering through the main (blue) or the auxiliary (green) USB port.
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