Micropower impulse radar is a low-power ultra wideband radar developed in the mid-1990s at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, used for sensing and measuring distances to objects in proximity to each other.
Commercial applications include:
Vehicles: parking assistance, backup warnings, precollision detection and smart cruise control (measures the distance to the vehicles in front of you and if they get too close, throttle is released and brakes are applied).
Appliances: studfinders and laser tape measures.
Security: home intrusion motion sensors and perimeter surveillance.
Search and rescue: micropower impulse radar can detect the beating of a human heart or respiration from long distances.
