Radar Sensors for Smart City Applications Market - Global Industry Size, Share, Trends, Opportunity, and Forecast, 2021-2031

The Global Radar Sensors For Smart City Applications Market is projected to expand from USD 7.98 Billion in 2025 to USD 15.68 Billion by 2031, registering a CAGR of 11.92%. These radar sensors act as crucial electronic devices that employ radio frequency technology to identify, track, and gauge the speed and presence of entities such as vehicles and pedestrians, maintaining high performance across various weather and lighting scenarios. The market's growth is largely fueled by rapid global urbanization, which creates a pressing need for effective traffic management solutions to ease congestion and lower emissions. Additionally, a heightened focus on public safety has driven the demand for non-intrusive surveillance systems that can monitor intersections and pedestrian areas without infringing on individual privacy, thereby promoting their broad integration into modern metropolitan infrastructure.

Despite this positive outlook, the market contends with significant obstacles related to signal interference and spectrum congestion, as the density of wireless devices in urban centers can compromise sensor precision and dependability. Demonstrating a sustained commitment to advancing these essential technologies, ERTICO - ITS Europe reported in 2025 that European Union initiatives have directed approximately €208 million toward 27 Cooperative, Connected and Automated Mobility (CCAM) projects since 2021. This substantial funding highlights the strategic financial dedication to embedding sensor-based intelligent transport systems within the smart city framework.

Market Drivers

The rising demand for intelligent traffic management and flow optimization serves as a major catalyst for the implementation of radar sensors in urban settings. Municipalities are increasingly substituting inductive loops with radar-based solutions to dynamically regulate signal timing and track lane usage, as these sensors offer superior reliability even during adverse weather conditions. This technological transition is vital for alleviating congestion and decreasing vehicle idling, which directly assists in lowering urban emissions. Underscoring this dedication to modernizing intersection infrastructure, the UK Department for Transport announced in March 2024 that £30 million from the 'Traffic Signal Obsolescence Grant' was allocated to local authorities specifically to upgrade traffic signal systems with advanced detection capabilities to enhance traffic flow.

Simultaneously, the increase in government funding for digital urban infrastructure projects is significantly quickening market growth by alleviating financial constraints for extensive sensor networks. Federal and regional authorities are financing initiatives that utilize radar for privacy-compliant surveillance and vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, which are essential for the safety of future autonomous mobility. In March 2024, the U.S. Department of Transportation's 'Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation (SMART) Grants Program' awarded over $50 million to 34 projects centered on implementing advanced smart community technologies. This fiscal backing fosters a conducive environment for sensor adoption; notably, the U.S. Department of Transportation's 2024 connectivity roadmap established a goal to enable V2X connectivity on 20% of the National Highway System by 2028, a target that requires the widespread installation of radar-equipped roadside infrastructure.

Market Challenges

Spectrum congestion and signal interference constitute a significant hurdle to the growth of the Global Radar Sensors For Smart City Applications Market. As urban areas become increasingly saturated with wireless technologies, the radio frequency spectrum required for radar operations faces critical overcrowding. This saturation often results in signal deterioration and false positives, where sensors struggle to differentiate between actual physical obstacles and electromagnetic noise. In safety-critical scenarios such as intersection monitoring and automated traffic control, such reliability failures are intolerable, leading municipal governments to postpone or downscale deployment efforts due to liability risks and performance instability.

The swift proliferation of connected emitters further aggravates this operational volatility, directly slowing market adoption rates. According to the 5G Automotive Association, the global number of cellular-connected vehicles surpassed 300 million by December 2024. This immense volume of transmitting devices significantly raises the electromagnetic noise floor in metropolitan zones, complicating the integration of interference-sensitive radar systems and restricting their effective application within complex smart city ecosystems.

Market Trends

The emergence of High-Resolution 4D Imaging Radar is transforming the market by offering granular object detection capabilities. In contrast to traditional radar, 4D imaging captures elevation data, enabling the distinction between stationary infrastructure and moving targets like pedestrians in dense urban environments. This improved resolution is essential for automated intersection management, where precise classification minimizes false alarms. Reflecting this shift, Arbe Robotics announced in July 2025 that its partner had commenced delivery of radars powered by Arbe's chipset for a new intelligent road infrastructure project, as highlighted in the 'Sensrad Delivers First Radar Series Powered by Arbe's Chipset' announcement, indicating a move toward mass adoption of these advanced perception tools.

The integration of Edge AI for Real-Time Analytics is reshaping sensor architecture by moving processing tasks from the cloud to the device level. By embedding artificial intelligence directly into the radar unit, smart city networks can instantly classify vehicle types with negligible latency, ensuring immediate reactions to changing road conditions while conserving bandwidth. This decentralized strategy supports autonomous decision-making at intersections. Demonstrating this momentum, Iteris announced in May 2025 via the 'Iteris Chosen to Implement the City of Burleson's Advanced Traffic Management System Plan' release that it had secured a $1.7 million contract to upgrade intersections with AI-enhanced radar sensors.

Key Players Profiled in the Radar Sensors For Smart City Applications Market

• Robert Bosch GmbH
• Continental AG
• NXP Semiconductors N.V.
• Infineon Technologies AG
• Denso Corporation
• Hella KGaA Hueck & Co.
• STMicroelectronics N.V.
• Texas Instruments Incorporated
• Analog Devices, Inc.
• Sony Group Corporation

Report Scope

In this report, the Global Radar Sensors For Smart City Applications Market has been segmented into the following categories:

Radar Sensors For Smart City Applications Market, by Technology:

• MEMS
• CMOS
• Others

Radar Sensors For Smart City Applications Market, by Component:

• Analog-to-Digital Converters (ADC)
• Digital-to-Analog Converters (DAC)
• Transceivers
• Amplifiers
• Microcontrollers
• Others

Radar Sensors For Smart City Applications Market, by Type:

• Ground Radar Sensors
• Overhead Radar Sensors

Radar Sensors For Smart City Applications Market, by Frequency:

• 24 GHz
• 10.5 GHz
• Others

Radar Sensors For Smart City Applications Market, by Application:

• Traffic Monitoring
• Pedestrian Monitoring
• Others

Radar Sensors For Smart City Applications Market, by Region:

• North America
• Europe
• Asia-Pacific
• South America
• Middle East & Africa

Competitive Landscape

Company Profiles: Detailed analysis of the major companies present in the Global Radar Sensors For Smart City Applications Market.

Available Customization

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