MR60BHA2 Sensor VisLog

Summary

MR60BHA2 Sensor VisLog is a local radar console for the Seeed MR60BHA2 on a XIAO ESP32-C6. The maintained product runtime lives in zephyr/mmwavevizlog-runtime/. The Arduino project under arduino/mmwavevizlog-quickstart/ is the quick-start bring-up path: it was the first base implementation used to get the hardware, wiring, Wi-Fi, OTA, and UI working before the Zephyr runtime was built, and it remains the easiest path for others to follow when first powering up the device.

It can collect:

• presence and target count
• range, angle, and speed for tracked targets
• heart rate and breathing rate
• total, breathing, and heart motion phase
• ambient light
• firmware and device status
• local RGB LED state and threshold-rule output

The live JSON sample endpoint is GET /api/sample.

flowchart TB
  A(["MR60BHA2 Sensor VisLog"])
  A --> P["Presence\nTarget count"]
  A --> T["Target tracking\nRange\nAngle\nSpeed"]
  A --> H["Physiology\nHeart rate\nBreathing rate\nMotion phases"]
  A --> E["Environment\nAmbient light"]
  A --> L["Logging and LEDs\nSession logger\nThreshold rules"]

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Runtime Paths

Path	Purpose	When to use
zephyr/mmwavevizlog-runtime/	Main product/runtime firmware	Use this for maintained firmware builds, CI, signed release artifacts, OTA flow, parser tests, and protocol-aligned runtime work.
arduino/mmwavevizlog-quickstart/	Quick-start bring-up and reference firmware	Use this first when validating wiring, board selection, sensor behavior, Wi-Fi AP behavior, LED output, and the UI on a new hardware setup.

The Arduino path is intentionally kept simple and approachable. It is not the long-term release target, but it is useful for fast hardware verification and for users who want to get the device running before installing the full Zephyr toolchain.

Versioning

Releases use semantic-style tags in the form vA.B.C.

• A is the major version. Increase this for breaking protocol, hardware, or firmware behavior changes.
• B is the minor version. Increase this for new features that remain mostly compatible.
• C is the patch version. Increase this for fixes, documentation updates, CI fixes, and small compatibility improvements.

Current first release target: v0.1.0.

For this repo, 0.x.y means the project is still in active prototype/runtime bring-up. The Zephyr app VERSION, Arduino reference firmware version, protocol examples, and GitHub release tag should stay aligned when practical.

JSON Output

Fields returned by the runtime sample stream:

JSON field	Meaning
heart_rate	Heart rate in bpm, or null.
breath_rate	Breathing rate in rpm, or null.
distance	Normalized metres, or null.
raw_distance	Raw radar distance reading, or null.
total_phase	Total motion phase, or null.
breath_phase	Breathing-filtered motion phase, or null.
heart_phase	Heartbeat-filtered motion phase, or null.
presence	Presence flag.
presence_valid	Whether the presence value is valid.
presence_source	Presence source label such as sensor, waiting, or stale.
target_valid	Whether target tracking data is valid.
target_source	Target source label such as sensor, waiting, or stale.
people_count	Target count, mirrored for compatibility.
target_count	Target count.
target_x	Primary target X position in metres, or null.
target_y	Primary target Y position in metres, or null.
target_distance	Primary target distance in metres, or null.
target_angle	Primary target angle in degrees, or null.
target_speed	Primary target speed in m/s, or null.
targets	Array of tracked targets with x, y, distance, angle, speed, dop_index, and cluster_index.
light	Ambient light in lux, or null.
light_ready	Whether the BH1750 light sensor is ready.
console_fw	Console firmware version string.
firmware_valid	Whether the radar firmware value parsed correctly.
firmware_raw	Raw radar firmware value.
firmware_project	Parsed radar firmware project field.
firmware_major	Parsed radar firmware major version.
firmware_sub	Parsed radar firmware sub version.
firmware_modified	Parsed radar firmware modified field.
led_r	Current LED red channel value.
led_g	Current LED green channel value.
led_b	Current LED blue channel value.
frame	Frame counter.
last_radar_ms	Milliseconds since the last radar update.
uptime_ms	Device uptime in milliseconds.

Hardware

1. Seeed Studio 60 GHz mmWave sensor module pack
2. USB-C to USB-C cable
3. USB-C battery pack
4. Phone stand

Where to buy:

• Seeed Studio search for the module pack: https://www.seeedstudio.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=MR60BHA2
• Seeed Studio search for the XIAO ESP32C6: https://www.seeedstudio.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=XIAO+ESP32C6
• Seeed mmWave product and module listings: https://www.seeedstudio.com/

Hardware Pins

These are the pins used by the Arduino bring-up path and preserved by the Zephyr runtime overlay.

Hardware pin	GPIO
MR60BHA2 UART RX	GPIO17
MR60BHA2 UART TX	GPIO16
WS2812 RGB LED	GPIO1
BH1750 I2C SDA	GPIO22
BH1750 I2C SCL	GPIO23

Safety and Exposure

This project uses the Seeed MR60BHA2, a low-power 60 GHz radar module. The module datasheet lists 3.3 V operation, about 600 mA typical current, and 12 dBm transmit power, so the RF source is designed for sensing rather than high-power transmission.

What the current literature and exposure guidance support:

• 60 GHz RF is non-ionizing.
• Interaction with the body is shallow and concentrated near the skin surface, not deep tissue.
• Above-6 GHz exposure limits are set to prevent excessive tissue heating.
• For compliant low-power use, the main known risk is local heating if the device is misused or driven beyond spec.

What this means for this repo:

• The sensor is appropriate for monitoring and research-style prototyping, including presence, breathing, and heartbeat estimation.
• It should not be described as a medical treatment device.
• For long-term bedside or in-vehicle use, follow the module datasheet, keep the hardware powered within spec, and avoid claiming zero risk.

Selected reading and public links:

• Seeed MR60BHA2 technical specification: PDF
• Wu, Rappaport, and Collins, The Human Body and Millimeter-Wave Wireless Communication Systems: Interactions and Implications: arXiv
• Hirata et al., Human Exposure to Radiofrequency Energy above 6 GHz: Review of Computational Dosimetry Studies: arXiv
• Nasim, Kim, and Sharif, Human Electromagnetic Field Exposure in Wearable Communications: A Review: arXiv
• FCC radio frequency safety guidance: fcc.gov/general/radio-frequency-safety-0

Reference Links

• Seeed MR60BHA2 datasheet PDF: https://files.seeedstudio.com/wiki/mmwave-for-xiao/mr60/datasheet/MR60BHA2_Breathing_and_Heartbeat_Module.pdf
• Seeed wiki home: https://wiki.seeedstudio.com/ and search for MR60BHA2
• Seeed mmWave Arduino library: https://github.com/Seeed-Studio/Seeed_Arduino_mmWave
• Arduino IDE download: https://www.arduino.cc/en/software
• Arduino Boards Manager guide: https://docs.arduino.cc/software/ide-v2/tutorials/ide-v2-board-manager
• Arduino Library Manager guide: https://docs.arduino.cc/software/ide-v2/tutorials/ide-v2-library-manager

Repo Layout

arduino/mmwavevizlog-quickstart/
  Arduino quick-start bring-up and hardware-reference firmware
images/
  screenshots and setup photos used by the documentation
protocol/
  JSON schema and serial stream notes
zephyr/mmwavevizlog-runtime/
  maintained Zephyr product/runtime firmware
LICENSE
README.md

Do not commit local build products, Zephyr workspaces, editor caches, macOS metadata files, or local device credential overrides.

Quick Setup

Arduino Quick-Start Bring-Up

Use this first when you need a minimal path to confirm the sensor wiring, board selection, Wi-Fi AP, OTA behavior, LED behavior, and dashboard before working on the maintained Zephyr runtime.

1. Install Arduino IDE 2.x.
2. Install the Espressif ESP32 board package in Boards Manager.
3. Install Seeed_Arduino_mmWave in Library Manager. (https://github.com/Love4yzp/Seeed-mmWave-library)
4. Open arduino/mmwavevizlog-quickstart/mmwavevizlog-quickstart.ino.
5. Select XIAO ESP32-C6 and the correct serial port.
6. Upload once over USB, then use OTA if you want wireless updates. After upload, give the board a few seconds to bring up Wi-Fi and OTA before assuming it failed. OTA only works after the sketch is already running and the board is reachable on its Wi-Fi AP.

Optional local credential override:

1. Copy arduino/mmwavevizlog-quickstart/vislog_private_config.example.h to arduino/mmwavevizlog-quickstart/vislog_private_config.h.
2. Change VISLOG_WIFI_AP_PASSWORD and VISLOG_OTA_PASSWORD in the copied file.
3. Keep vislog_private_config.h local. It is ignored by Git.

The committed passwords are development defaults for an easy first boot. Change them before sharing a device outside your own test setup.

Zephyr Maintained Runtime

Use Zephyr for the maintained product/runtime firmware path in this repository.

1. Install the Zephyr workspace and toolchain described in zephyr/mmwavevizlog-runtime/README.md.

2. Build the app from the repository root:

   cd /Users/username/Documents/GitHub/mmWaveVizLog
   export ZEPHYR_BASE="$PWD/zephyr/workspace/zephyr"
   export ZEPHYR_TOOLCHAIN_VARIANT=zephyr
   west build -b xiao_esp32c6/esp32c6/hpcore zephyr/mmwavevizlog-runtime

3. Flash the board with the connected USB-C cable.

4. Open the dashboard at http://192.168.4.1/ after connecting to the device AP.

Release Process

The release workflow runs on tags matching v*.*.* or by manual dispatch. It builds the parser test, validates protocol examples, builds the real XIAO ESP32-C6 Zephyr firmware, verifies zephyr.signed.bin, uploads workflow artifacts, and publishes a GitHub Release.

Normal release flow:

git checkout main
git pull
git tag v0.1.0
git push origin v0.1.0

The release should include:

• signed XIAO ESP32-C6 Zephyr firmware binary
• Zephyr ELF and map files
• native simulator parser executable
• protocol JSON schema
• protocol JSON examples

Troubleshooting

If the upload fails or the board does not come back on Wi-Fi after flashing the XIAO ESP32-C6, put it into bootloader mode and try again:

1. Unplug USB.
2. Hold the BOOT button.
3. While holding BOOT, plug USB back in.
4. Keep holding for about 1 to 2 seconds after it powers up, then release.
5. Start the upload again.

Open The UI

Connect to the device Wi-Fi:

• SSID: mmWaveVisLog-MR60BHA2-123MACID
• Default password: wirelessphysiology
• UI: http://192.168.4.1/
• OTA hostname: mmWaveVisLog-MR60BHA2-OTA
• Default OTA password: wp-ota

These are development defaults. Override them with local vislog_private_config.h for private devices or shared demos.

After upload or reset, Wi-Fi and OTA can take a few seconds to appear. If the access point or OTA target is not visible immediately, wait briefly before retrying.

What you should expect in the UI:

• Radar target tracking is the main live view for one subject.
• Multi-target tracking shows multiple people or objects in range.
• Range, angle, and speed history is the quickest way to see motion toward or away from the sensor.
• LED control and threshold rules lets the local LED follow a sensor condition.
• Session logger records named captures and exports JSON.

Plot Controls

Use the plot window selector to switch between 18, 36, and 72 seconds of history.

Use the noise/stability band selector to show the rolling 12-point band at off, +/- 1 sigma, +/- 2 sigma, or +/- 3 sigma.

Use Reset plots to clear the graph history and start a fresh capture.

Radar Target Tracking

Use this view for a single subject. It shows presence, target count, range, angle, speed, and the heart and breathing plots.

Multi-Target Tracking

Use this view when more than one person is in range. It is useful for rear-seat monitoring or room occupancy checks.

Multi-Target Plot Colors

The target colors are consistent across the charts:

• Target 1: red
• Target 2: orange
• Target 3: green

Range, Angle, and Speed History

Use this section to watch whether a target is stable, moving closer, or moving farther away.

LED Control and Threshold Rules

Use this section to drive the status LED manually or tie it to a measurement threshold.

Session Logger

Use this section to name a run, record it, and export JSON for later review.

License

This repository is licensed under the MIT License. See LICENSE.