LiDAR sensing technology is now commonly known as a solution for automotive driving and ADAS system, but the technology also leverage its edges in a time of the COVID-19 crisis. An indoor motion analysis software developer, iinsider, released SafeDistance, a free upgrade to its LiDAR-powered solution for monitoring and analyzing crowd density in public spaces. The software utilizes LiDAR sensors and 3D perception software from Quanergy to help airport, venue and facility managers monitor and mitigate crowding and congestion, and maintain safe distancing within t...

LeddarTech reported that it has partnered with Sunny Automotive Optech, a Chinese optical component maker, for creating LiDAR solutions for automotive and mobility applications. The Sunny Automotive Optech will provide optical solutions for LiDAR development as a member of the Leddar Ecosystem, LeddarTech and Sunny Automotive Optech will initiate this collaboration on front and cocoon LiDAR optics designs, based on the LeddarEngine™. The LeddarEngine is comprised of the LeddarCore™ LCA3 system-on-chip and LeddarSP™ signal proce...

Researchers have developed the first megapixel photon-counting camera based on new-generation image sensor technology that uses single-photon avalanche diodes (SPADs). The new camera can detect single photons of light at unprecedented speeds, a capability that could advance applications that require fast acquisition of 3D images such as augmented reality and LiDAR systems for autonomous vehicles. "Thanks to its high resolution and ability to measure depth, this new camera could make virtual reality more realistic and let you interact with augmented reality information in ...

Velodyne Lidar introduced the Automated with Velodyne program for its integrator ecosystem to commercialize next generation autonomous solutions using Velodyne LiDAR technology. Through the program, Velodyne helps companies by supporting innovation, promoting applications and creating lasting customer and business relationships. (Image: Velodyne Lidar) The program reflects Velodyne’s focus on accelerating market adoption of 3D LiDAR innovations and driving revenue growth for its partners around the world. In addition to a broad portfolio of LiDAR sensors...

Applied Optoelectronics, an optical products manufacturer, announced the release of a high power and narrow linewidth laser specifically designed for LiDAR applications, particularly for automotive use. Current automotive LIDAR systems are based on near infrared lasers, however these lasers are not eye safe and therefore are limited in terms of emitted power. This power limitation, in turn, restricts the effective sensing range of the LIDAR system. AOI’s laser operates at longer wavelengths near 1550-nm where eye-safe emission limits are much higher and therefore...

AR applications and devices are one of the major focuses of Apple at the moment. The company has shown its interests in AR technology development and considered that AR wearable glasses may replace smartphones in the near future. Rumors about Apple to reveal its AR smart glasses soon have been going on as well. Apple launched the new iPad Pro adopting LiDAR Scanner and releases the latest ARKit 3.5 which enables app developers to take advantage of the new LiDAR Scanner to capture 3D features of the surrounding environment. ARKit 3.5 also includes instant A...

A team from Yokohama National University in Japan believes they have developed a method to obtain a sensor by taking advantage of slow light and published the results in the Optica, a journal published by The Optical Society, on January 2020. A small-sized silicon photonics chip that can be used for non-mechanical beam steering and scanning. (Image: Yokohama National University) In modern LiDAR sensors, many of the systems are composed of a laser source; a photodetector, which converts light into current; and an optical beam steering device, which directs the light...

Blickfeld, the German LiDAR start-up Blickfeld based in Munich, announced that it has completed Series A financing round. The new financing was led by the venture capital unit of Continental together with Wachstumsfonds Bayern with participation of the existing investors Fluxunit – OSRAM Ventures, High-Tech Gründerfonds, TEV (Tengelmann Ventures) and Unternehmertum Venture Capital Partners. With the new financial resources, Blickfeld will them to ramp up production, qualify its LiDAR sensors for the automotive market and strengthen the app...

APPLE reveals the latest 12.9-inch iPad Pro product of 2020, which is equipped with a LiDAR scanner for world facing 3D sensing solution. The product can be regarded as an outpost for full 3D sensing iPhones scheduled in September 2020. 3D sensing has been equipped with rear camera to provide features like rangefinder, blur photo effect (background removal included), 3D object recognition, spatial modeling and augmented reality. 3D sensing combining 5G transmission and AR function with gesture control is expected to realize interactive augmented reality, leading to ...

Velodyne Lidar announced a multi-year sales agreement with NAVYA, an autonomous driving system provider. NAYVA is a French company expert in autonomous driving system. The company has put into service autonomous mobility solutions in 2015 and used Velodyne’s LiDAR sensors in production for its autonomous shuttle fleet that provides mobility services to cities and private sites. (Image: Velodyne Lidar/NAVYA) With the sales agreement, NAVYA plans to pursue the worldwide expansion of its shuttle with Velodyne’s sensors for precise real-time...

Mitsubishi Electric announced that it has developed a compact LiDAR solution incorporating a micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) that achieves an extra-wide horizontal scanning angle to accurately detect the shapes and distances of objects ahead in autonomous driving systems. The new LiDAR solution irradiates objects by laser and uses a dual-axis (horizontal and vertical) MEMS mirror to scan for the reflected light, generating three-dimensional images of vehicles and pedestrians. Mitsubishi Electric expects this compact, low-cost solution to contribute to th...

SiLC Technologies, the developer of integrated single-chip FMCW LiDAR solutions, announced that it closed US$12 million in seed funding led by Dell Technologies Capital. Decent Capital, ITIC Ventures, and several prominent angel investors also participated in the funding round. SiLC will use the funding to scale its R&D and operations to develop its frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) silicon photonic 4D+ Vision Chip platform. SiLC demonstrated its integrated FMCW chip and long-range LiDAR resolution at CES 2020. The company al...

Velodyne Lidar announced a sales agreement with Idriverplus to provide Puck™ sensors over three years. The LiDAR sensor from Velodyne will be used in mass production of commercial autonomous vehicles, including street cleaners, passenger cars and logistics vehicles. Idriverplus is a Chinese company focusing on driverless technology and plans to place into commercial operation in China thousands of units of its unmanned, electric street cleaning vehicles, called WOXIAOBAI, with each vehicle equipped with two Puck sensors to ensure security and perception. Idri...

LeddarTech announced that it will exhibit the result from the collaboration with its Ecosystem partner Renesas at the AV20 Silicon Valley Conference from February 26-28 at The Pullman San Francisco Bay. (Image: LeddarTech) LeddarTech will demonstrate the award-winning Leddar™ Pixell, a 3D solid-state cocoon LiDAR for autonomous shuttles, delivery vehicles and robotaxis. The Leddar Pixell features the LCA2 LeddarEngine™, for which LeddarTech collaborated with Renesas. The teams worked closely in the design and manufacturing of the LCA...

Pioneer Smart Sensing Innovations (PSSI), the subsidiary of Pioneer focuses LiDAR sensors, announced its partnership with eMoovit, a company incorporated abroad in Malaysia of MooVita, for a 5G autonomous driving demonstration taking place in Malaysia from January 2020. This demonstration is done as a part of “5G Demonstration Project” which is convened in six states of the country by Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission, and verify for autonomous driving through 5G in partnership with Altel. The autonomous vehicle in the form of a...

Cepton Technologies announced that it has raised over US$50 million in Series C funding. This brings Cepton’s total funding to nearly US$100 million, providing a strong foundation to substantially ramp up its R&D efforts, expand its footprint in the automotive market and support major customers worldwide. The latest funding round was led by automotive lighting system developer Koito, the automotive Tier 1 and world-leading provider of automotive lighting systems. As part of the transaction, Koito will obtain non-exclusive rights to manufacture and sell Cepton&r...

Osram and its subsidiary Vixar both launched new sensing products covering infrared laser and VCSEL. (Image: Osram) Osram adds a 65 Watt laser, SPL DP90_3 to its LiDAR photonics portfolio for high resolution, near-field detection for bringing autonomous driving one step closer. Long-range LiDAR is used to detect objects up to approximately 250 meters away. The immediate surroundings of the car must also be reliably captured by short- or mid-range LiDAR, which covers a distance up to approximately 90 meters from the vehicle. Short- or mid-range LiDAR c...

CASE – Connected, Autonomous/Automated, Shared and Electric was centered at AUTOMOTIVE WORLD this year. Following the topic, LEDinside visited several LiDAR and LiDAR component companies participating the event and learnt the latest trends and development in ADAS and self-driving technology. Velodyne Lidar showcased the full portfolio to support progresses in ADAS and autonomous driving. Its Alpha Prime carries a sensing range up to 200 meters and 360 degree horizontal FOV, making the highest specification in the industry. Velar...

he concurrent show with NEPCON Japan, AUTOMOTIVE WORLD, consists of six specialized shows including CAR-ELE JAPAN, EV JAPAN, Automotive Lightweight Technology Expo, Connected Car Japan, and CAR-MECHA Japan, making it the world largest exhibition for advanced automotive technologies. Autonomous driving technology and related industry is beyond doubt the most attractive topic at the show. The exhibition invited several industry leaders to share the current trend and technology progress of self-driving technology. The keynote speec...

Right after CES 2020, there are more international shows coming up and LiDAR technology builders continue their journey. LeddarTech and its Japanese distributor Nagase are exhibiting at CAR-ELE as part of Automotive World 2020 in Tokyo starting January 15. Meanwhile, Israeli weighing technology expert and Hitachi unveiled their collaboration result at NRF 2020 Vision (Retails Big Show). Canadian LeddarTech will join its Japanese distribution partner, Nagase, at Automotive World 2020 in Tokyo, Japan. The Automotive World show brings together a va...

At CES 2020, many exhibitors showcased their innovative applications incorporating LiDAR technology, including autonomous vehicles, robot cleaning service, autonomous food delivering service and more. Several LiDAR companies also introduced their new products or announced new partnerships with other industry players at the event. SOS LAB, a LiDAR startup for self-driving cars, reported that it has signed a LiDAR collaboration memorandum of understanding (MOU) with ON Semiconductor. They aim to advance the development and commercialization of LiDAR tec...

According to the latest report by LEDinside, a research division of TrendForce, titled “2020 Infrared Sensing Application Market Trend- Mobile 3D Sensing, LiDAR and Driver Monitoring System”, the market value of automotive LiDAR is expected to reach USD 127 million in 2019. International sport events such as 2020 Tokyo Olympics and 2024 Paris Olympics are the best opportunities for hosting countries to demonstrate their transportation capabilities. Thus, they have proactively involved in Robo-Taxi, autonomous bus and even air taxi development. ...

CES 2020 officially kicked out on yesterday in Las Vegas with more than four thousands companies all over the world presenting their novel applications and technologies. Automotive applications covering autonomous driving technologies are one major field targeted by worldwide technology builders. After SONY demonstrated the conceptual electronic vehicle Vision S at its press conference, several LiDAR companies also revealed their new LiDAR sensors at CES with a wide range of applications. (Image: Velodyne) Velodyne Lidar introduced Velabit™, the co...

Osram is joining CES 2020 as the high-tech photonics expert to introduce its groundbreaking products and solutions focusing on the potential of visible and invisible light. The company also reported that it will supply lighting solutions for MetroSnap, a concept vehicle from Rinspeed. Osram will showcase its innovative technology for LED projection, biomonitoring, biometrics, LiDAR and interior/exterior automotive lighting to improve the lives of consumers in the four key areas of Mobility, Safety & Security, Connection, and Health & Well-Being. One such...

Velodyne Lidar announced that it will introduce and demonstrate its new LiDAR sensor technology at CES 2020, taking place in the Las Vegas Convention Center during January 7 to 10. Velodyne will demonstrate how its LiDAR sensors and Vella™ software can be applied to create ADAS solutions with improved safety, including pedestrian and bicyclist avoidance, lane keeping assist, automatic braking and more. Employing LiDAR, along with a few inexpensive cameras for redundancy, is a revolutionary approach to safety, allowing vehicles to detect and avoid objects...

Pioneer and its subsidiary, Pioneer Smart Sensing Innovations (PSSI), announced their development of a mass-production 3D LiDAR sensor in a compact size and improved performance with an extended measurement distance and more. The new LiDAR sensor is expected to be equipped in level 3 and above autonomous driving vehicles and will be released in 1H20 and enter full scale production in the second half of 2020. Pioneer and PSSI have been providing various companies with verification models from 2017 to 2018, and continued verifying performance through demonstration...

Cognata, an ADAS and autonomous vehicles simulation software company, announced that Israeli LiDAR solution provider Innoviz has selected Cognata as its simulation partner for testing and validation of its sensor hardware and perception software offerings. Cognata's simulation platform can replicate how Innoviz's LiDAR technology reflects off of various materials to reproduce how the sensor will work on the road. Simulation provides the only environment where this fast-paced LiDAR technology can be tested and validated extensively for real-life scenarios and...

LiDAR sensors and sensing solutions developer Quanergy Systems reported that it was selected as a LiDAR partner for China’s Geely Automotive Group (Geely). Geely and Quanergy will have a deep collaboration in developing and commercializing solutions for the broad deployment of smart city and autonomous vehicle systems. (Image: Quanergy/Geely) This announcement follows an initial deployment of Quanergy’s LiDAR-based smart city solution at intersections across the Hangzhou Bay Area, Ningbo City, and Zhejiang Province. This is the first smart ...

The goal of launching fully autonomous vehicle as well as advanced driver assistance systems is driving LiDAR developers to accelerate their technology developments. Draper, a U.S. LiDAR producer, unveiled its LiDAR with MEMS beam steering technology. Also, Aeva, founded by two former Apple engineers, introduced 4D LiDAR-on-chip. The two companies both focus on scaling down and simplifying LiDAR system. Draper has developed and advanced, a LiDAR-on-a-Chip that uses patented, all-digital MEMS optical switches for beam steering. According to Drap...

LeddarTech announced its partnership with First Sensor, a sensor solution develop, to extend the Leddar Ecosystem. With the support of First Sensor and other industry partners, LeddarTech is developing a LiDAR platform option for OEMs and Tier1s to support the progress for volume deployment for ADAS & autonomous driving applications. LeddarTech and First Sensor will initiate this collaboration with the development of a LiDAR Evaluation Kit, demonstrating a technical concept in a working LiDAR and creating a tool for Tier 1s and system integra...