Volvo Cars’ forthcoming fully electric flagship SUV will have industry-leading safety technology as standard. The fully electric successor to Volvo Cars’ XC90, to be revealed in 2022, will come with state-of-the-art sensors, including LiDAR technology developed by Luminar and an autonomous driving computer powered by the NVIDIA DRIVE Orin system-on-a-chip,... Read more →

BMW i Ventures invested in Kodiak Robotics, Inc., a developer of self-driving long-haul trucking technology. The funds from the BMW i Ventures investment help Kodiak expand its team and fleet, as well as continue to develop its self-driving technology purpose-built for long-haul trucks. Kodiak is led by a team of... Read more →

Toyota has selected ZF and Mobileye, an Intel company, to develop Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) for use in multiple vehicle platforms starting in the next few years. As part of the agreement, ZF, one of the world’s number one producers of automotive cameras driven by Mobileye technology, will also... Read more →

A collaboration between Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and the University of Washington’s Urban Freight Lab has developed a prototype webapp that combines smart sensors and machine learning to predict parking space availability. The prototype is ready for initial testing to help commercial delivery drivers find open spaces without expending... Read more →

Pony.ai, a leading autonomous driving technology company, introduced its newly designed sensing platform in collaboration with lidar hardware and software company Luminar Technologies, Inc. Pony.ai also announced it has driven more than five million kilometers across an operational coverage area of more than 850 km² and has provided more than... Read more →

During the Shanghai Auto Show, China-based RoboSense, a smart and automotive LiDAR system provider, and Webasto, a global Top 100 automotive supplier and market leader for roof systems, are partnering on a Smart Roof Sensor Module that integrates with RoboSense automotive-grade MEMS LiDAR RS-LiDAR-M1 for Level 3 to Level 5... Read more →

Continental has been manufacturing radar sensors for more than 20 years. In that time, the technology company has launched a total of more than 100 million radar sensors on the market worldwide. Continental is now unveiling its sixth generation of long-range radar and surround radar. Production is scheduled to start... Read more →

Mobileye, an Intel Company, and Udelv, a Silicon Valley venture-backed company, announced that Mobileye’s self-driving system—Mobileye Drive—will “drive” the next-generation Udelv autonomous delivery vehicles (ADV), called “Transporters.” The companies plan to produce more than 35,000 Mobileye-driven Transporters by 2028, with commercial operations beginning in 2023. Our deal with Udelv is... Read more →

Insight LiDAR announced that its product, Insight 1600, is the first LiDAR with the combined high resolution and velocity detection to enable pedestrian gesture recognition. The new capability can be used by AV perception teams to predict the actions of pedestrians quickly and accurately. When humans drive, we’re constantly scanning... Read more →

Innoviz Technologies, Ltd., a provider of high-performance, solid-state LiDAR sensors and perception software, has released its Automotive Perception Platform - InnovizAPP for the automotive industry. InnovizAPP is the company’s advanced perception platform, which includes automotive-grade hardware and software that enable autonomous vehicles (AVs) to identify and classify objects. Innoviz is... Read more →

China-based Momenta announced strategic cooperation with Toyota to provide automated HD mapping and updates through vision-based technologies. With this joint development, both companies aim to promote the commercialization of Toyota’s Automated Mapping Platform (AMP) in the China market to better serve Chinese customers. Momenta's vision-based (camera-based) HD mapping uses low-cost... Read more →

RoboSense (Suteng Innovation Technology Co., Ltd.) has launched China’s first automotive-grade solid-state LiDAR production line and will start mass production and delivery of the automotive-grade solid-state LiDAR RS-LiDAR-M1 for contract projects in Q2 this year. At CES2021 in January, RoboSense officially unveiled the SOP version of the automotive-grade LiDAR RS-LiDAR-M1,... Read more →

Honda Motor has begun leasing of the Honda Legend EX equipped with Honda SENSING Elite in Japan. Honda SENSING Elite is a variation of Honda SENSING, a suite of advanced safety and driver-assistive technologies currently available on Honda vehicles around the world. One of the “elite” technologies featured is the... Read more →

Neural Propulsion Systems (NPS) emerged from stealth to launch NPS 500, the first all-in-one deeply integrated multi-modal sensor system focused on Level 4/5 autonomy. The new sensor-fused system precisely interconnects the NPS solid-state MIMO LiDAR, super resolution SWAM radar and cameras cooperatively to detect and process 360° high resolution data... Read more →

Recogni Inc., the developers of an AI vision cognition system for autonomous vehicles, raised $48.9 million in a Series B financing round, led by WRVI Capital, a prominent global technology investor. The proceeds will help Recogni bring its perception platform to market and expand its engineering and go-to-market teams. In... Read more →

Israel-based RadSee Technologies Ltd. announced the availability of the automotive industry’s first 4D imaging radar for ADAS (advanced driver assistance systems) and autonomous vehicles able to deliver ultra-high performance and scalability to OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers at up to one-third the cost of previous solutions. By combining the company’s... Read more →

Luminar Technologies, Inc., a provider of automotive lidar hardware and software technology, and Volvo Cars released a curated dataset called Cirrus containing unique long range lidar data from Volvo Cars’ test and data collection fleet. This curated dataset is being opened to industry developers and researchers in order to aid... Read more →

Aeva, Inc., a developer of FMCW 4D lidar systems (earlier post), is partnering with TuSimple, a global self-driving technology company, to deploy Aeva 4D lidar on TuSimple’s self-driving trucks. TuSimple is in a global partnership with VW’s TRATON Group to develop an autonomous system for heavy-duty trucks and is co-developing... Read more →

DENSO will partner with LiDAR and perception systems company Aeva to develop next-generation sensing and perception systems. Together, the companies will advance Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) lidar (earlier post), a solution that measures velocity, in addition to depth and reflectivity, and bring it to the mass vehicle market. Lidar... Read more →

PACCAR and Aurora have signed a global, strategic agreement to develop, test and commercialize autonomous Peterbilt and Kenworth trucks. This collaboration will integrate PACCAR’s autonomous vehicle platform with the Aurora Driver to enhance the safety and operational efficiency of PACCAR’s customers. Autonomous Peterbilt 579 Test Vehicle with Aurora Driver. In... Read more →

TDK Corporation announced the availability of the InvenSense IAM-20685, the latest release in the SmartAutomotive product family. The IAM-20685 is a new ASIL-B monolithic 6-axis MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems) IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit) developed in compliance with ISO 26262. Taking advantage of TDK’s proprietary MEMS fabrication platform and technology, the IAM-20685... Read more →

Trusted Positioning Inc. (TPI), a TDK Group Company and leader in inertial navigation software, and Uhnder, a leader in digital radar technology have partnered to develop a localization reference design with world-class accuracy and performance with Uhnder’s software-defined digital radar sensor and TPI’s AUTO positioning software. The partnership between Uhnder... Read more →

Velodyne Lidar introduced the Velarray M1600, a solid-state lidar sensor designed to serve mobile robotic applications. The sensor is the latest in a new line of Velarray products and first in the new M-series. It is built using Velodyne’s proprietary micro-lidar array architecture (MLA) and leverages Velodyne’s manufacturing partnerships for... Read more →

Velodyne Lidar, Inc. is collaborating with Ford Otosan on product development and testing of autonomous heavy commercial trucks. Ford Otosan is testing and planning to use Velodyne Velarray H800 solid-state lidar sensors to enable safe navigation and collision avoidance in next generation vehicles. Velodyne Lidar’s Velarray H800 solid state lidar... Read more →

Xpeng Inc., a leading Chinese smart electric vehicle company, announced its next-generation autonomous driving architecture at Auto Guangzhou 2020. The company is incorporating lidar as a new hardware component for its next-generation autonomous driving architecture, significantly improving the vehicle’s high-precision object recognition performance. The new hardware architecture is a combination... Read more →

BASF has developed a modified polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) specifically for radar sensor applications in vehicles: Ultradur RX. With good resistance against media such as splash water, oils or salt, Ultradur offers exceptional protection for sensor housings. In addition, the new material shields the sensitive electronics in the housings against disturbing... Read more →

Ride Vision is launching globally the first collision-avoidance technology for motorcycles, an AI-based system for motorcycle safety. Ride Vision is buttressed by $7 million in Series A funding, totalling $10 million to-date, as well as a partnership with Continental AG. There are more than 700 million motorcycles on the road... Read more →

Velodyne Lidar introduced the solid-state Velarray H800. The Velarray H800 is architected for automotive-grade performance and is built using Velodyne’s proprietary micro-lidar array architecture (MLA). With combined long-range perception and a broad field of view, this sensor is designed for safe navigation and collision avoidance in advanced driver assistance systems... Read more →

The Volkswagen Touareg can now drive into and out of parking spaces fully automatically and by remote control from outside the vehicle using a smartphone. The luxury-class Touareg SUV is now the first Volkswagen that is capable of assisted maneuvering without a driver on board. The basis of the new... Read more →

FLIR Systems, Inc. announced two intelligent traffic system cameras, the FLIR ThermiCam AI (sold as the TrafiSense AI camera in the US and Canada) with thermal imaging and the FLIR TrafiCam AI visible camera, both with artificial intelligence (AI) to optimize traffic flow on roadways and at intersections. When combined... Read more →

Lidar developer Luminar Technologies, Inc. and Daimler Truck AG announced a strategic partnership to enable highly automated trucking, starting on highways. Experts at Daimler Trucks, its US subsidiary, Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) and Torc Robotics, part of Daimler Trucks’ Autonomous Technology Group, with the experts at Luminar are collaboratively... Read more →

Continental has taken a minority stake in lidar pioneer AEye. The company, headquartered in Dublin, California, has developed a precision, high-performance, long-range lidar technology. Continental plans to industrialize this for passenger cars and trucks. The volume production launch is scheduled for late 2024. The two companies have agreed not to... Read more →

SmartSens, a China-based high-performance CMOS image sensing (CIS) chip design company, launched its SC133GS CMOS 1.3M pixel CMOS sensor with global shutter and fan-out package to further enhance performance in automotive settings. The solution delivers superior signal-to-noise ratio, ultra-high sensitivity, and excellent dynamic range to address growing demand for intelligent... Read more →

Innoviz Technologies, a provider of high-performance, solid-state LiDAR sensors and perception software, is launching a next-generation sensor: the InnovizTwo. The new high-performance automotive-grade LiDAR sensor offers a fully featured solution for all levels of autonomous driving at a significantly lower cost. Although the automotive industry is on its way to... Read more →

Location accuracy is a key requirement for the Connected Vehicle (CV) Pilots as vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) technologies are deployed in the field in larger quantities. The New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT) CV Pilot team is working hard to ensure that the in-vehicle devices can establish their... Read more →

The US Department of Energy (DOE) announced $24 million in funding for 2 projects as part of the first stage of the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy’s (ARPA-E) Seeding Critical Advances for Leading Energy technologies with Untapped Potential (SCALEUP) program. These SCALEUP “Fast-Track” teams, Natron Energy and Bridger Photonics, will receive... Read more →

FLIR Systems, Inc. announced the results from recent automatic emergency braking (AEB) tests that examined how adding a thermal sensor and fusing the data with a radar, a visible sensor, and a trained neural network can improve pedestrian detection from current AEB systems. Following positive proof-of-concept test results announced earlier... Read more →

Aeva, a company building next-generation sensing for autonomous vehicles (earlier post), and ZF are partnering to bring the first Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) LiDAR to market for autonomous driving applications. (Earlier post.) The partnership, combining Aeva’s expertise in FMCW LiDAR technology with ZF’s experience in industrialization of automotive grade... Read more →

ams and Ibeo Automotive Systems GmbH announced that they have made progress in bringing to market solid-state LiDAR technology for autonomous driving. ams and Ibeo began joint LiDAR development in 2018 on ibeoNext Solid State LiDAR. Their aim is to provide solid-state LiDAR to the automotive market for advanced driver... Read more →

The Hamburg-based LiDAR sensor specialist Ibeo Automotive Systems GmbH will begin worldwide delivery of its new ibeoNEXT LiDAR sensor (earlier post) to partners and customers starting in October 2020. The sensor, which generates a high-resolution 3D point cloud for reliable object detection, is based on a new type of photon... Read more →

DeepRoute, an international self-driving vehicle technology provider, and Cao Cao Mobility, a strategically invested business of Geely Technology Group, are partnering to advance the design, development and commercialization of Cao Cao’s autonomous robo-taxis service. The autonomous vehicles, powered by DeepRoute’s innovative self-driving technology solution, will be deployed at the 2022... Read more →

Velodyne Lidar, Inc. is partnering with the University of Nevada, Reno to advance research in transportation infrastructure. The university’s Nevada Center for Applied Research purchased and, in conjunction with the Nevada DOT and Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development, is using Velodyne’s lidar sensors in its Intelligent Mobility initiative to... Read more →

Toshiba Electronic Devices & Storage Corporation announced that Zhejiang Asia-Pacific Mechanical & Electronic Co. Ltd. (APG), one of China’s leading manufacturers of vehicle braking systems, will deploy the Visconti 4 image-recognition processor in its next-generation advanced driver assistance system (ADAS). This marks the first time that a Visconti family processor... Read more →

by Dr. Michael Richter, Managing Director, Scantinel Photonics LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) is considered to be the key technology for self-propelled vehicles. Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) LIDAR—a cumbersome abbreviation for a disruptive technology—will facilitate the breakthrough in autonomous driving and, according to experts, will completely force the currently... Read more →

ams, a leading worldwide supplier of high performance sensor solutions, and Ibeo Automotive Systems GmbH, the German specialist and a global technology supplier for automotive LiDAR sensor technology and the associated software, confirmed that ams Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser (VCSEL) technology is a core component of Ibeo’s newly-developed solid-state... Read more →

Israel-based RFISee, a developer of affordable imaging radars for the automotive industry, is unveiling the first Phased Array 4D imaging radar on a chip. The high-resolution, low-cost radar sensor will generate a real-time 3D location and velocity map of a car’s surrounding objects. RFISee’s all-weather radar has proven its ability... Read more →

Lucid Motors announced DreamDrive, its new advanced driver-assistance system (ADAS). The platform combines what Lucid calls the most comprehensive sensor suite on the market with an advanced driver monitoring system, all standard on the first versions of the Lucid Air EV, scheduled for delivery in early 2021. The DreamDrive technology... Read more →

Velodyne Lidar, Inc. announced a three-year sales agreement with PARIFEX, a leading provider of traffic management and speed measurement systems. PARIFEX uses Velodyne lidar sensors in its traffic monitoring solutions which can help reduce road accident rates and enhance roadway safety. PARIFEX equips its NANO-CAM and NOMAD solutions with Velodyne... Read more →

Ford and Mobileye, an Intel company, are expanding their relationship to offer even better camera-based detection capabilities for driver-assistance systems, including improved forward collision warning, vehicle, pedestrian and cyclist detection, plus lane-keeping features. As chosen supplier of vision-sensing technology for Ford advanced driver-assistance systems, Mobileye will provide its EyeQ family... Read more →

University of Colorado Boulder researchers, with colleagues at Boston University, have developed a new optical phased array concept—the serpentine OPA (SOPA)—that could support medium- to long-range lidar. An open-access paper on their work appears in the journal Optica. Optical phased arrays (OPAs) implemented in integrated photonic circuits could enable a... Read more →