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Sonair AS

"It's sound, simple, safe."

Component Supplier
Manufacturer

Norwegian startup founded 2022; ADAR ultrasonic sensor delivers 180°×180° hemisphere detection up to 4 m for autonomous robot safety.

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Company Overview

Sonair AS is a Norwegian deep-tech sensor company founded in September 2022 and headquartered at Gullhaug Torg 2D, 0484 Oslo, Norway. The company was spun out of SINTEF, one of Europe's largest independent research institutes, based on patented MEMS/ultrasound research developed at SINTEF's MiNaLab. Sonair emerged from stealth in May 2024 and has raised approximately $12.9 million in total funding from investors including ProVenture, SINTEF Venture, Investinor (Norway's state-backed VC), Scale Capital, RunwayFBU, and Skyfall Ventures.

The company's flagship product is the ADAR (Acoustic Detection and Ranging) sensor, described as the world's first safe 3D ultrasonic sensor designed specifically for autonomous robots. Unlike LiDAR or camera-based safety systems, ADAR uses PMUTs (Piezoelectric Micromachined Ultrasonic Transducers), which are MEMS-fabricated ultrasonic emitters and receivers. Software beamforming digitally steers and focuses sound beams in real time without moving parts, analogous to techniques used in medical ultrasound imaging.

The ADAR provides a full 180° × 180° hemispherical field of view with no blind spots and no mechanical scanning. Key specifications: detection range 0–4 m; close-range detection (obstacle present but position not reported) 0–5 cm; range precision ±2 cm; angular precision ±2° at center, ±10° at edges; minimum detectable object is a Ø30 mm cylinder up to 3 m range; frame rate 18 Hz; response time 112 ms; operating frequency 70–85 kHz; supports up to 128 zone presets with 3 simultaneously monitored zones (1 protective/stop zone + 2 warning zones); 1 OSSD safe output; Ethernet data interface delivering 3D point cloud via CoAP over UDP/IP; ROS2-native sensor_msgs/msg/PointCloud2 output; 24 V DC supply; max 5 W power consumption; IP64 ingress protection; -10 to +50°C operating temperature; dimensions 54 × 104 × 25 mm; weight 200 g. Multiple ADAR units can operate simultaneously without crosstalk.

Safety certifications targeted include SIL2 per IEC 61508 and PLd per EN ISO 13849 (pending finalization). The sensor won Best of Sensors 2024 and the DIRA Teknologiprisen 2025.

Documented integrations include Cleanfix (RA660 Navi XL autonomous cleaning robot, March 2026), Fuji Corporation (Japan, AMR applications), and Solwr (warehouse picking robots, Norway). The company ships to manufacturers across Asia, Europe, and North America. The sensor is positioned as up to 50% cheaper than equivalent LiDAR-based sensor packages.

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Products & Solutions

ADAR

World's first safe 3D ultrasonic sensor for autonomous robots; 180°×180° hemisphere, 4 m range, SIL2-rated, ROS2-native.

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Contact Sonair AS

WEBSITE

https://www.sonair.com

EMAIL

[email protected]

HEADQUARTERS

Gullhaug Torg 2D
Oslo , Oslo  0484

Norway

Company Facts

Founded

2022

Primary Role

Component Supplier

Company Size

-

Primary Region

Europe

Annual Sales

-

Funding Stage

-

Funding Total

-

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