Request for Guidance on Editing TI IWR1843BOOST .cfg File to Enable Long-Term Zero-Doppler Detection and Zone Monitoring

I’m using a TI IWR1843BOOST radar (no DCA1000EVM).

The another thing I need right now is to tune the on-board .cfg file.Enable long-dwell zero-Doppler (stationary) detections for vehicles & pedestrians, raise point-cloud density, and mark ~15 rectangular zones (≈ 8 m × 10 m) for dwell-time statistics.

1. Which exact .cfg commands & fields directly affect stationary detections
2. How to tweak each parameter—state which direction to move the value (increase / decrease / disable) and why it lengthens the visibility of stationary objects for 5–15 minutes.
3. my current config file: % ***************************************************************% Created for SDK ver:03.06% Created using Visualizer ver:3.6.0.0% Frequency:77% Platform:xWR18xx% Scene Classifier:best_range% Azimuth Resolution(deg):15% Range Resolution(m):0.32% Maximum unambiguous Range(m):45% Maximum Radial Velocity(m/s):16.2% Radial velocity resolution(m/s):1.02% Frame Duration(msec):100% RF calibration data:None% Range Detection Threshold (dB):15% Doppler Detection Threshold (dB):15% Range Peak Grouping:enabled% Doppler Peak Grouping:enabled% Static clutter removal:disabled% Angle of Arrival FoV: Full FoV% Range FoV: Full FoV% Doppler FoV: Full FoV% ***************************************************************sensorStopflushCfgdfeDataOutputMode 1channelCfg 15 5 0adcCfg 2 1adcbufCfg -1 0 1 1 1profileCfg 0 77 8 7 22.06 0 0 33.333 1 176 12499 0 0 30chirpCfg 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1chirpCfg 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 4frameCfg 0 1 32 0 100 1 0lowPower 0 0guiMonitor -1 1 1 0 0 0 1cfarCfg -1 0 2 8 4 3 0 15 1cfarCfg -1 1 0 8 4 4 1 15 1multiObjBeamForming -1 1 0.5clutterRemoval -1 0calibDcRangeSig -1 0 -5 8 256extendedMaxVelocity -1 0lvdsStreamCfg -1 0 0 0compRangeBiasAndRxChanPhase 0.0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0measureRangeBiasAndRxChanPhase 0 1.5 0.2CQRxSatMonitor 0 3 4 43 0CQSigImgMonitor 0 87 4analogMonitor 0 0aoaFovCfg -1 -90 90 -90 90cfarFovCfg -1 0 0 44.99cfarFovCfg -1 1 -16.2 16.20calibData 0 0 0sensorStart
4. How to add commands to the existing cfg files?

Answer 1

[Darshak]

Hi @VLV,

Getting consistent detection of stationary objects using the IWR1843BOOST without a DCA1000 can be quite challenging. The issue mainly stems from how FMCW radars like this are optimized — most of the onboard processing is tailored to detect motion, so static or low-Doppler objects often get treated as background clutter and filtered out. This becomes a limitation when trying to maintain visibility of things like parked vehicles or pedestrians over longer time periods, especially when tracking their presence in specific zones.

To allow static objects to persist in the point cloud over several minutes, a few .cfg parameters need to be carefully adjusted. Here's what to focus on:

• Disable static clutter removal so that zero-Doppler returns are not suppressed.
• Reduce CFAR thresholds slightly to ensure weak but consistent reflections are detected.
• Increase chirps per frame to improve dwell-time and temporal resolution.
• Enable extended velocity support to improve handling near zero Doppler.
• Adjust DC calibration range to avoid unintended suppression around zero bins.
• Increase ADC samples to enhance range resolution and point cloud density.

Here are the practical value ranges that typically work for this use case:

• CFAR threshold: 10 to 14
• Chirps per frame: 64 to 128
• Static clutter removal: 0 (disabled)
• ADC samples per chirp: 200 to 256
• Extended max velocity: 1 (enabled)
• DC range calibration: around ±5 bins

Once these ranges are identified, open the .cfg file in any text editor, locate the corresponding commands (cfarCfg, clutterRemoval, frameCfg, etc.), and adjust their values. Save the file and reload it using mmWave Studio or whatever host interface is used. Ensure the command order is preserved, and avoid duplicate entries unless working with multi-profile setups.

These changes usually give more stable long-term visibility of static objects and support zone-based dwell tracking more reliably.

For more details on the relevant configuration and integration workflows, the following official MathWorks documentation might help:

• “Send Command to Enable Static Clutter Removal” (for understanding command interface): https://www.mathworks.com/help/radar/ref/mmwaveradar.release.sendcommand.html
• “I/Q Data Collection and Detection Generation with Texas Instruments (TI) millimeter-wave Radar”: https://www.mathworks.com/help/radar/ug/iq-data-collection-detection-application-example.html