How to extract Raw ADC Data from Radar sensor in Isaac Sim?

[susobhan27]

I am currently trying to use Texas Instruments IWRL6432AOP Digital Twin radar sensor in Isaac Sim environment, but I am unable extract raw ADC data from the radar. What we get is that a processed PCD output. But I need raw ADC data from the sensor without any preprocessing. Is it possible to extract the raw ADC data, please let me know.

[bugraskl]

The built-in RTX Radar cannot currently provide TI-style raw ADC samples. Its lowest-level exposed buffer is GenericModelOutput (GMO), but “raw” in that API means the unconverted RTX sensor return buffer—not per-antenna, per-chirp ADC samples. The point cloud is derived from those simulated returns.

A TI IWRL6432AOP ADC cube requires a lower-level FMCW signal-chain model: transmitted chirps, TX/RX antenna channels, beat signals, sampling rate, quantization, and device-specific processing. RTX Radar models detections/returns rather than that RF and ADC chain, so the missing ADC data cannot be recovered from the generated point cloud or GMO buffer.

The official data-collection API is documented here: RTX Radar Sensor. You can use RadarSensor(..., annotators=["generic-model-output"]) and parse_generic_model_output_data() when GMO fields are sufficient.

For actual ADC data, the practical options are either to feed recorded IWRL6432AOP/DCA1000 captures into your downstream pipeline, or implement a custom sensor/extension that synthesizes the TI chirp and receive-channel signal chain from scene geometry. That custom layer would sit before your normal TI range/Doppler/angle processing.

[zwdoescode]

@susobhan27 What is your expected sample layout, chirp configuration, and downstream processing requirements? I can probably raise this up as an internal request to the team.

[susobhan27]

@zwdoescode I need it in raw ADC format something like a matrix of (Chirps x ADC Samples x RX Antennas x TX Antennas) that contains the data in complex numbers format, so that I can perform radar processing on it like Range-Doppler FFT, CFAR detections, BEV and similar things.

[zwdoescode]

Thanks for your information. I have created an internal request to the team.

Ticket: IREQ-477