Valeo to offer new low-cost solid-state LiDAR; co-developed with LeddarTech; mass production in 2018
01 June 2016
Tier 1 supplier Valeo is adding a new low-cost solid-state LiDAR, developed together with LeddarTech, a specialist in advanced detection and ranging solutions, to its portfolio for driving and parking assistance. The new sensor will be ready for mass production in 2018.
The Solid-state LiDAR will have no mechanical moving parts and will be the least expensive LiDAR sensor on the market, Valeo said. With a proprietary receiver ASIC with 16 discrete detection segments, the sensor will provide best in class sensing performance being able to detect pedestrians, bicycles, motorcycles or cars which are only partly in the same lane.
Its purpose-optimized optical system enables a detection range of up to 100 meters. As its field-of-view is easy to adapt, the new sensor can enable various functions from Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) to Right Turn Assist (for commercial vehicles) and can contribute to automated driving functions such as Traffic Jam Assist or Automated Parking.
The sensor works as well at night or in low light situations and in adverse weather conditions such as rain or fog.
The collaboration between the two companies began in 2014, when Valeo selected Leddar technology and signed a cooperation and licensing agreement with LeddarTech.
LeddarTech’s business model allows integrators to benefit from the patented Leddar sensing technology, packaged into ICs, to develop a variety of highly differentiated LiDAR solutions aimed at multiple automotive applications.
Founded in 2007 as a spin-off of Canada’s leading optics and photonics research institute, LeddarTech is the developer, owner and supplier of the Leddar technology, a unique Lidar technology that performs time-of-flight measurement using pulses from infrared light processed through innovative algorithms, accurately detecting a wide range of objects under various environmental conditions. This novel Lidar technology delivers the best range-to-power ratio.Leddar works by emitting invisible pulses of light, reading the return echo of these pulses, and digitally converting and processing the signal to assess the presence and position of objects in its field of view. The shape, range and resolution of the detection zone can vary depending on the optical components (e.g., lenses) used to build the sensing device.
Leddar is an optical detection and ranging technology; it relies on principles of optics to emit light and receive the backscatter from objects. A photodetector is also required to capture the light echo and transpose it into an electrical signal.
These three elements (light source, optical components, photodetector) are part of all Leddar-based devices. Depending on the target application, they can vary in size, shape, weight and performance.
All Leddar sensors are built around the LeddarCore ICs, which contain LeddarTech’s patented signal processing technology. In addition to the IC, all Leddar sensor modules need a light source (e.g., LED, VCSEL or laser), a photodetector and optical components.
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