Sonair (Oslo, Norway) ADAR, the world’s first safe 3D ultrasonic sensor designed to boost safety in spaces shared by humans and robots, debuted at Automate 2025 in May.
A typical 2D LiDAR safety scanner in an AMR only sees a person’s legs in one horizontal plane. In contrast, Sonair’s patented ADAR (Acoustic Detection And Ranging) technology detects people and objects in 3D. A single ADAR sensor provides a full 180 x 180 field of view, and a 5-meter range.
The core technology behind ADAR has been in development at the world-renowned MiNaLab sensor and nanotechnology research center in Norway for more than 20 years. The imaging method is called beamforming; it’s the backbone of processing for SONAR and RADAR, as well as in medical ultrasound imaging, and now ready for ultrasound in-air applications.
Sonair is on track to achieve safety certification for ADAR by the end of 2025. This is an industry-first for 3D ultrasonic sensing in air.
What is ADAR?
ADAR, a patented innovation by Sonair, is a new category of 3D depth sensor. It empowers autonomous robots with omnidirectional depth perception, enabling robots to “hear” their surroundings in real-time 3D, using airborne soundwaves to interpret spatial information. The sensor creates a virtual safety shield with a range of 5 meters, that enables people and robots to share space safely.
According to the company, advantages include plug-and-play sensing, small form factor, and low power and computing requirements. Sonair ADAR is scheduled to be ready for shipment in July 2025.
More information: www.sonair.com