The radar chips handle long-range detection. The ultra-wideband systems handle close-range tasks.
In Shanghai, Calterah has introduced a new generation of radar semiconductors designed to meet the rising safety expectations now being codified into law across Europe and China. The Kunlun-Pro and Andes-Pro chips represent not a single leap but a careful, systematic advance — more sensitive antennas, sharper angular resolution, and processing power that allows a vehicle to perceive the world with something closer to the fidelity of human attention. Alongside these, the company is extending its reach into ultra-wideband radar, weaving together technologies that together trace a continuous arc of awareness from highway to parking lot to the quiet interior of a parked car.
- Regulators in Europe and China are raising the bar for automotive radar in 2026, and the previous generation of chips is no longer sufficient to meet it.
- Calterah's Andes-Pro breaks new ground as the first 6T6R radar SoC to reach production, offering 200-meter detection and one-degree azimuth precision that tells a car not just that something exists, but exactly where.
- The Kunlun-Pro delivers ten times the processing power of current 4T4R chips, allowing vehicles to track faint, distant targets that would otherwise vanish into background noise.
- Ultra-wideband development kits address two stubborn real-world problems — children left in parked cars and the disorienting geometry of tight parking spaces — by suppressing the vehicle's own metallic interference.
- With 30 million chips already shipped to more than 30 automakers, Calterah is positioning itself as a single-source platform for the full chain of vehicular perception, from highway speed to the moment the driver walks away.
On June 8 in Shanghai, Calterah announced two new radar chips aimed at the tightening safety standards now taking shape in Europe and China. Euro NCAP has raised its 2026 requirements, and China is finalizing rules for Level 2 autonomy and emergency braking. Both demand that radar systems detect not just large obstacles but smaller, harder-to-see targets across all weather and speed conditions — a bar the previous generation of chips struggles to clear.
The Kunlun-Pro uses a 5-transmitter, 4-receiver configuration and delivers ten times the processing power of the 4T4R chips currently in production vehicles. Its signal-to-noise ratio improves by 2.5 decibels, and it generates 25 percent more virtual channels — the digital pathways through which radar interprets its surroundings. The result is reliable tracking of faint targets at distances that defeat older systems.
The Andes-Pro goes further. It is the first production automotive radar chip to implement a 6-transmitter, 6-receiver architecture — theoretically possible before, but never shipped. It detects weak targets at 200 meters and resolves angles to one degree horizontally and three degrees vertically, meaning the vehicle knows not just that something is present, but precisely where. The chip can also be scaled into 12T12R imaging radar systems, letting automakers apply the same design across different models and price points without rebuilding from scratch.
Beyond millimeter-wave, Calterah is entering ultra-wideband radar with two development kits built on the Dubhe CAL1106AQ chip. One addresses child presence detection — sensing whether a child has been left alone in a parked car. The other assists with parking in tight spaces. Both applications are complicated by radar reflections bouncing off the car's own body, and Calterah's chip includes a dedicated module to suppress that interference.
Founder and CEO Jiashu Chen framed the announcements as part of a unified vision: millimeter-wave handling long-range highway detection and emergency braking, ultra-wideband managing close-range tasks like entry, intrusion detection, and occupant sensing. Together, they form a continuous chain of perception. With more than 30 million chips shipped to over 30 automakers, Calterah is betting that the industry will want both technologies from a single vendor — a wager whose outcome will depend on how quickly regulation hardens and how forcefully competitors respond.
In Shanghai on June 8, Calterah announced a pair of new radar chips designed to meet the tightening safety standards that automakers now face worldwide. The company, which has built its reputation on millimeter-wave radar technology, introduced the Kunlun-Pro and Andes-Pro—semiconductor systems meant to power the driver assistance features that are becoming mandatory equipment on new vehicles.
The timing matters. Europe's safety testing organization, Euro NCAP, has raised its requirements for 2026. China, meanwhile, is finalizing national regulations for Level 2 autonomous driving and automatic emergency braking. Both regions are demanding that radar systems work reliably in all weather conditions and across the full range of driving speeds, detecting not just large obstacles but smaller, harder-to-see targets. The old generation of chips, Calterah argues, cannot quite meet this bar.
The Kunlun-Pro is built around a 5-transmitter, 4-receiver antenna configuration. Compared to the 4-transmitter, 4-receiver chips currently in production vehicles, it offers processing power that is ten times greater. The signal-to-noise ratio—essentially how clearly the chip can distinguish a real object from background noise—improves by 2.5 decibels. It generates 25 percent more virtual channels, the digital pathways through which the radar interprets what it sees. In testing, the chip tracks faint targets at distances that would defeat older systems.
The Andes-Pro takes a different approach. It is the first production radar chip to use a 6-transmitter, 6-receiver setup, a configuration that has been theoretically possible but never implemented in a shipping automotive product. It can detect weak targets at 200 meters and resolve angles with precision—one degree in the left-right direction, three degrees in the up-down direction. This matters because precise angle measurement means the car knows not just that something is there, but where exactly it is. The chip can also be stacked into larger systems with twelve transmitters and twelve receivers, creating what Calterah calls an imaging radar. This scalability is important because it lets automakers use the same basic design across different vehicle models and price points without redesigning the entire system.
Beyond millimeter-wave, Calterah is moving into ultra-wideband radar, a different technology that operates at higher frequencies and shorter ranges. The company has released two development kits built on a chip called the Dubhe CAL1106AQ. One kit is designed for child presence detection—sensing whether a child has been left unattended in a parked car, a safety feature now required in some markets. The other is for parking assistance, helping drivers navigate tight spaces or find their car in a lot. Both tasks are difficult for conventional ultra-wideband systems, but Calterah's chip includes a specialized module to suppress radar reflections bouncing off the car's own metal body, which can otherwise drown out the signal from nearby objects.
The company has shipped more than 30 million millimeter-wave chips since its founding, powering vehicles from more than 30 automakers. The founder and CEO, Jiashu Chen, framed the new products as part of a larger vision: combining millimeter-wave and ultra-wideband technologies to create a complete safety ecosystem. The radar chips handle the long-range detection needed for highway driving and emergency braking. The ultra-wideband systems handle the close-range tasks—unlocking the car, detecting a child left inside, alerting the owner to intrusion. Together, they form a chain of perception that runs from the moment a driver approaches the car to the moment they park it and walk away.
What Calterah is announcing is not a single breakthrough but a systematic tightening of the technology across multiple fronts. The millimeter-wave chips are more sensitive and more precise. The ultra-wideband chips are solving problems that have been unsolved. And the company is betting that automakers will want to source both from the same vendor, creating a unified platform. Whether that bet pays off will depend on how quickly the new regulations take hold and how aggressively competitors respond.
Citações Notáveis
Combining mmWave and UWB technologies creates a seamless, safe, and intelligent driving experience—from car locating and unlocking to automated parking and child presence detection.— Jiashu Chen, Calterah Founder and CEO
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
Why does it matter that Calterah is announcing these chips now, in 2026? What's the urgency?
The regulations are changing. Euro NCAP and China are both raising the bar for what counts as acceptable safety. A chip that was good enough last year might not pass the test this year. Calterah is saying: we've built something that will pass tomorrow's test.
But these are just chips. How do they actually make a car safer?
They're the eyes of the car. A better chip sees farther, sees more clearly, and sees things that older chips miss. If your radar can detect a pedestrian at 200 meters instead of 150, you have more time to brake. If it can track a small object reliably, it won't mistake a pothole for a person.
The Andes-Pro can scale up to 12 transmitters and 12 receivers. Why is that flexibility important?
Because automakers don't want to redesign their entire system for every car they make. If you can use the same basic chip in a budget sedan and a luxury SUV, just with different numbers of them stacked together, you save money and time. That's how you get the technology into more cars faster.
What about the ultra-wideband stuff? Child presence detection—that's solving a real problem.
It is. Children left in hot cars is a tragedy that happens. Ultra-wideband can sense whether someone is in the car without a camera, without invading privacy. It's a narrow problem, but it's a real one, and the technology is finally mature enough to solve it.
Is Calterah the only company doing this?
No. But they're one of the few trying to build a complete ecosystem—millimeter-wave for long range, ultra-wideband for close range, all integrated. Most competitors focus on one or the other. That integration is what Calterah is betting will matter.