Daimler Truck has selected Aeva as the supplier of long- and ultra-long range LiDAR for Daimler’s series production autonomous commercial vehicle program.

Under the production collaboration, Aeva will supply its latest Aeva Atlas automotive grade 4D LiDAR technology to Daimler Truck and collaborate with Torc Robotics, an independent subsidiary of Daimler Truck, to enable SAE Level 4 autonomous vehicle capabilities beginning with the Class 8 Freightliner Cascadia truck platform.

Aeva will supply its latest Atlas automotive grade 4D LiDAR technology to Daimler Truck and collaborate with Torc Robotics. LiDAR technology enables SAE Level 4 autonomous vehicle capabilities for the autonomous-ready Freightliner Cascadia truck platform. The multi-year collaboration begins in the first quarter of 2024 with Aeva’s start of production by 2026 and Daimler Truck production ramp by 2027.

Daimler Truck intends to integrate the LiDAR sensors directly in its production process, making it easy for customers to buy autonomous ready trucks directly out of its manufacturing plants without the need for sensors to be retrofitted. Torc in turn will sell its virtual driver technology and supporting Mission Control services as a subscription to customers. Its driving software will use Aeva’s perception software, built around Aeva’s instant velocity data, to detect objects faster, further away, and with higher accuracy.

The multi-year collaboration begins in the first quarter of 2024 with Aeva’s start of production by 2026 and Daimler Truck production ramp by 2027.

LiDAR is a key enabling technology in autonomous driving. While traditional LiDAR sensors use laser pulses to sense distances to objects, Aeva’s Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) 4D LiDAR technology uses a low power continuous laser beam to measure range and velocity simultaneously for every point. This enables automated vehicles to unlock new levels of safety and vehicle automation by instantaneously discriminating between static and dynamic points and knowing the precise velocity of dynamic objects.

Daimler Truck and Torc have run extensive and successful on-road test programs as well as first customer pilots. To maximize the safety of autonomous trucks, Daimler Truck and Torc’s trucks are equipped with sensor sets from a combination of three technologies: LiDAR, radar and camera technology. This enables safe handling adapted to the respective situation on highways, surface roads and ramps as well as when turning at controlled intersections.

The selection represents Aeva’s first major automotive OEM production design win and is the result of multiple years of extensive collaboration and qualification with Daimler Truck, Torc Robotics and Daimler Truck North America.