The first sensor to be installed was radar. Homer’s setup involves a total of five radar units. The first is our long range radar, which can see obstacles 200m ahead, even in weather conditions like dense fog and rain. We also have four short range radars installed on all corners of the car, primarily for intersections and other complex traffic navigation.

The Bar

The front-facing radar presented an interesting challenge: there was no solid place to mount the radar underneath the front bumper. Although we were able to install the read radar hidden underneath the bumper, at the front we had to either:

Drill directly into the body and mount the radars

Build a custom mount, to which we could mount the radar units on

Drilling into the body is, of course, permanent. We’d also lose flexibility on placement and sensor type (not all radar units are the same size). We ultimately chose the second option, and had a custom mount (affectionally known as “The Bar”) designed by APROE. We fell in love as soon as we saw it!

The Bar

Next up: mounting our precious Velodyne HDL-64E LIDAR!