Quanergy Systems announced a partnership with Chinese automotive manufacturer Chery Automobile. Quanergy signed on to Chery Lion’s Smart Partner Program as the LiDAR partner, to focus efforts on advancing autonomous driving and smart cities in China. Quanergy‘s S3 automotive grade solid state LiDARs are based on optical phased arrays (OPA) produced in CMOS silicon. These sensors, being fully solid state with no moving parts on any scale, offer an unparalleled level of quality and reliability. Further, the CMOS silicon node used in wafer fabri...

Velodyne Lidar announced Kaarta has included Velodyne’s smart, powerful lidar technology in Kaarta’s new Stencil 2-32 ground surface mapping solution. Equipped with Velodyne LiDAR, Stencil 2-32 scans ground level surfaces, mapping items such as curbs, manholes, signs, poles, and other features at a fraction of the cost of traditional mobile mapping systems. The Stencil platform helps enable city planning for infrastructure improvements as well as parking and traffic management. The 3D data generated by Stencil 2-32 can be utilized for a range of applications ...

LiDAR sensor manufacturer Quanergy announced its distribution partnership with Ingram Micro Brazil, a subsidiary of Ingram Micro for expanding it market penetration into South America. Ingram Micro will provide Quanergy’s LiDAR technology to a range of diverse industries focusing on bringing connected IoT solutions to companies across mining, transportation, security, energy, and finance. (Image: Quanergy) "Quanergy’s LiDAR solution complements our security and IoT portfolio," said Alexandre Nakano, Director of Security and Ne...

US-based LiDAR startup Luminar announced that it is entering the consumer automotive and commercial trucking markets with a sensing and perception platform called Iris. After three years of stealth development and continuously increasing funds, the company revealed its perception software built on its LiDAR sensing platform. (Image: Luminar) A recent addition of US$100 million, along with previously unannounced capital, brings the company’s total raised to date to more than $250 million. Major financial investors include G2VP, two of the most prominent sover...

The evolution of automobile including changes in energy source and improvement of driving technology is also bringing advances in automotive lighting. The leading photonic technology provider Osram has continued to accelerate its development in automotive lighting and other innovative automotive technologies. Mike Godwin, OSRAM’s Director of Automotive LED Marketing, shared his insight of how automotive LED lighting has improved with the progress of autonomous vehicles. (Mike Godwin, OSRAM’s Director of Automotive LED Marketing. Image: Osr...

Velodyne Lidar announced that Idriverplus, a China-based company who commercialized driverless technology, is using Velodyne’s groundbreaking LiDAR sensors in a range of autonomous driving products. Velodyne has strategically teamed with Idriverplus to help Idriverplus with its efforts for mass production of commercial autonomous vehicles, which include street cleaners, passenger cars, and logistics vehicles. Velodyne LiDAR sensors are used in all Idriverplus self-driving vehicles, providing rich computer perception data that allows real-time object and free space ...

Sense Photonics, expert in LiDAR and 3D sensor solutions for autonomous vehicles and industrial automation, announced that it is set to enhance its presence in Scotland, following a £1.9 million grant (US$2.39 million) from Scottish Enterprise. With the support, Sense Photonics will open an Advanced LiDAR Research and Development Centre in Edinburgh, creating 38 high-value jobs in the process. The company is at the forefront of the innovative LiDAR industry, with ground-breaking technology based on more than 200 patents. (Image: Sense Photonics) ...

Analog Devices, Inc. (ADI) announced the collaboration with First Sensor AG to develop products aimed at speeding the launch of autonomous sensing technology serving unmanned automotive, aerial and underwater vehicles in transportation, smart agriculture, industrial manufacturing and other industries. As part of the collaboration, Analog Devices and First Sensor are developing offerings that shrink the LiDAR signal chain to enable higher system performance as well as reduce size, weight, power and cost for manufacturers designing sensing and perception technology into thei...

TriLumina announced the launch of a surface-mount flip-chip back-emitting VCSEL array without the need for a submount or bond wires, allowing lower costs and higher performance than existing designs using near-infrared light-emitting laser diodes or LEDs for 3D sensing. Conventional VCSEL arrays are mounted on a submount and use bond wires for electrical connections. TriLumina’s back-emitting VCSEL technology has been flip-chip packaged and used in automotive long-range LiDAR prototypes, for low power mobile and in-cabin 3D sensing applications. (Im...

Innoviz Technologies, the Israeli LiDAR sensor and perception software provider, announced that it has closed its Series C funding round with US$170 million. The total funding of the company came to US$252 million. (The close of Innoviz’s Series C funding round marks a significant milestone in a long line of achievements by the company. Image: Innoviz) The company said that this funding will support several key initiatives, including the enhancement of Innoviz's perception software. Innoviz's perception software provides vehicles with a deep underst...

Sense Photonics, a company building the next generation of LiDAR and 3D sensor solutions for autonomous vehicles, industrial equipment and other applications, announced a close of a $26 million Series A funding round. The round was co-led by Acadia Woods and Congruent Ventures, with participation from a number of other investors, including Prelude Ventures, Samsung Ventures and Shell Ventures. The company’s solid-state LiDAR system ushers in a new era of advanced 3D imaging technology designed from the ground up to meet the cost, performance and safety requ...

LiDAR sensors not only improve road safety for self-driving cars, they can also help in monitoring and care of elderly. IBM began a trial home care service adopting LiDAR sensors with a UK startup company Cera Care. The pilot project will combine IBM’s machine learning software with LiDAR sensors, reported Reuters. IBM Research UK teamed up with Cera Care to develop an elderly home care system to monitor clients’ activity. They will install LiDAR sensors in the houses of 10 to 15 volunteers in the UK since June to track activities of t...

Velodyne announced that it has won a patent lawsuit filed by its competitor Quanergy. The US Patent Trial and Appeals Board ruled the validity of Velodyne’s US Patent 7,969,558 on May 23, 2019. According to Velodyne, the patent is related to a LiDAR based 3D point cloud measuring system used for Autonomous Vehicles, ADAS, Robotic vision, and other diverse applications. “Velodyne Lidar is the inventor of the surround view LiDAR and we were confident that our patent would be upheld,” said Marta Hall, President of Velodyne Lidar. &ldqu...

Aurora, the self-driving technology developer, announced its plan to acquire Blackmore, a US-based LiDAR company, asserting LiDAR as a critical component for autonomous vehicle. In Aurora’s announcement, the company noted that on top of its prior knowledge of self-driving technology, it is now focusing on the next generation LiDAR technology called Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW). Blackmore, with its expertise in FMCW, will provide Aurora advantages of high dynamic range, single photon sensitivity, and interference immunity, which advance s...

Blickfeld, a Germany-based LiDAR technology provider, announced its partnership with Koito Manufacturing, the tier-one supplier of exterior automotive lighting, for exploring technologies to develop a LiDAR sensor that can be fully integrated into a headlight. The integration of Blickfeld’s LiDAR into Koito headlamps will enable automobile manufacturers to possess breakthrough LiDAR technology in which the sensor is fully integrated into the vehicle. Blickfeld claims that the integration will facilitate progress in serial Advanced Driver Assistance System...

Austria-based sensor developer ams announces that it has signed an agreement to team with Ibeo Automotive Systems, the German specialist for automotive LiDAR sensor technology, and ZF Friedrichshafen, automotive technology developer, to advance LiDAR technology for use in autonomous driving and other applications. The three companies will partner on joint R&D efforts to ensure that this exciting technology can be quickly and safely adopted by 2021. (Image: ams) ams will provide automotive-grade VCSEL arrays and drivers for solid-state LiDAR illumination...

To further speed up autonomous driving technology development, LiDAR producers are strengthening their cooperation with different strategic partners. Cepton announced partnership with Dataspeed, an autonomous vehicle solution provider while Aeye reported an investment from Japan-based component maker Aisin. Meanwhile, Quanergy revealed that it has met automotive requirement. 3D LiDAR solutions developer Cepton Technologies announced that it has partneredp with autonomous vehicle solution specialist Dataspeed. Through the partnership, Dataspeed’s customers will ...

Toyoda Gosei, the Japanese industrial group, announced its investment in IMUZAK, a optics technology startup, for strengthening optical modules for autonomous driving technology development. The evolution of autonomous driving technology is expected to increase the need for parts equipped with sensing functions to recognize the surrounding environment, such as nearby vehicles or pedestrians and road configuration, and human-machine interface functions for communication between vehicles and people. Given this trend, Toyoda Gosei is integrating sensors and other electronic co...

Velodyne Lidar is going to demonstrate its LiDAR solutions at the SmartDrivingCar Summit on May 15-16 in Princeton, N.J., USA. The SmartDrivingCar Summit examines the fundamental economic forces of supply, demand, and public oversight driving deployment and commercialization of vehicle autonomy. The event is co-chaired by Professor Alain Kornhauser of Princeton University and features academic, industry, and government experts discussing the safety benefits of self-driving cars, regulatory challenges, mobility and community service benefits, and technology. ...

The rising market of autonomous vehicle has driven developments of LiDAR sensor and other sensing technology. LiDAR providers are also actively building up connections with industry partners for speeding up their market expansion and technology improvement. Quanergy Systems, LiDAR sensors and smart sensing solutions provider announced its partnership with NIT, a distributor of IP surveillance and physical security solutions in the META region (Middle East, Turkey, Africa). Through the partnership, Quanergy aims to expand the market for its LiDAR-based sec...

Fueled by the rising autonomous driving technology applications, LiDAR sensor manufacturers have reported business growth and expansion. The LUMIBIRD Group announced a robust revenue growth for 1Q19 while Cepton opened a new office in the UK to accelerate EMEIA business. Paris-based laser specialist Lumibird posted a revenue of EUR 24.2 million (US$ 27.07 million) for the first quarter of 2019 with an on-year increase of 35.2%. The three strategic business lines of the company, LiDAR, Defense and Medical, are delivering strong growth in value. LiDA...

Velodyne Lidar announced an agreement with Nikon Cooperation, under which Sendai Nikon Corporation, a Nikon subsidiary, will manufacture LiDAR sensors for Velodyne with plans to start mass production in the second half of 2019. Through the partnership with Nikon to boost LiDAR sensor production, Velodyne aims to expand its business in North America, Europe and Asia, indicated Marta Hall, President and CBDO, Velodyne Lidar. The company has set a goal to produce LiDAR in millions of units to meet the rising demands in the automotive industry and other a...

Pioneer and Canon announced that the two companies have agreed to co-develop a 3D LiDAR sensor with the goal of mass production by Pioneer in 2020. 3D-LiDAR sensors use laser light to accurately measure the distance of objects as well as ascertain three-dimensional information relating to distance and the surrounding environment in real time, and are regarded as an indispensable key device for the realization of level-three and above autonomous vehicles. Pioneer has been working on the development of low cost Micro Electric Memory Systems (MEMS) as well as object rec...

Apple has held talks with LiDAR suppliers seeking for advanced LiDAR sensors for its self-driving cars, suggesting that Apple is still working on its automotive vehicle project, known as “Project Titan,” reported Reuters. According to Reuters, Apple has talked to at least four LiDAR suppliers, aiming to find LiDAR sensors with a “revolutionary design” that are “smaller, cheaper and easily mass produced” in comparison to the current technology. However, the reports said Apple has not yet found one that meets its demands. (I...

Taiwan-based research institute, ITRI, announced that it won Silver in the Transportation & Logistics category at 2019 Edison Awards with its integrated road safety solution, iRoadSafe. According to ITRI, iRoadSafe is the world’s first V2X safety system solution integrating V2V/V2I communications, roadside sensing, and CMS (Changeable Message Sign) technologies to provide safety warnings for all road users, including those without on-board unit (OBU) installation. To break through the limitation from OBU installation, iRoadSafe integrates ...

Lumotive, a LiDAR startup funded by Bill Gates, announced its development of a disruptive beam-steering technology which will significantly improve the performance, reliability and cost of LiDAR systems for the emerging self-driving car industry. With its patented system using Liquid Crystal Metasurfaces (LCM) and silicon fabrication, Lumotive introduced its beam steering LiDAR that is able to simultaneously offer large optical aperture, wide field-of-view and fast scanning. LCMs, semiconductor chips that steer laser pulses based on the light-bending principle...

Chinese LiDAR company RoboSense announced that it has provided a cold-resistant LiDAR for GACHA, the world's first autonomous driving shuttle bus for all weather conditions which was reported by LEDinside last year. GACHA is equipped with RoboSense's advanced cold-resistant 16-beam mechanical LiDAR environment perception system to operate vehicles in harsh winter and other severe weather conditions. The autonomous shuttle bus was co-designed by Sensible 4, a Finnish autonomous driving company, and MUJI, the Japanese retail brand. Sensible 4 p...

Waymo, the self-driving subsidiary of Alphabet, will start selling its LiDAR sensor, joining the LiDAR business competition with other LiDAR producers including Velodyne LiDAR and Quanergy. Simon Verghese, Head of Lidar Team at Waymo, announced in a blog post that the company is going to sell Laser Bear Honeycomb, one of the LiDAR sensors Waymo developed for its self-driving vehicles to “select partners” – those who do not compete with Waymo in self-driving taxi business. Waymo has developed three types of sensors using short, mediu...

LiDAR technology provider Quanergy teamed up with Athena Security Solutions, an intelligent security solution provider based in Hyderabad, India, to offer its LiDAR solutions for environment monitoring and risk control in India. Through the cooperation, Athena will provide the entire range of Quanergy’s solutions, including the Solid State S3-X series sensors and QORTEX for Security™ to its corporate and government clients across India. Vishnu Choudhary, CEO of Athena Security Solutions, commented, “Partnering with Quanergy wi...

Perception solution developer AEye announced that eight patents related to its perception system iDAR (Intelligent Detection and Ranging) have been confirmed. AEye’s iDAR is an integrated system combining solid-state MEMs-based agile LiDAR, fused HD camera, and software definable AI technology. With the aim to solve the challenges of robotic vision for autonomous vehicles, AEye developed iDAR, the artificial perception system that combines LiDAR, HD camera and AI intelligence to create a smart perception sensor that mimic human visual cortex fo...