What does an automotive powerhouse like Ford have in common with a Chinese search engine like Baidu? They’re both investing heavily in LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) systems for autonomous vehicles.
Velodyne LiDAR, a developer of the technology, recently announced the completion of a combined USD$150 million investment from the two companies for the purpose of expanding its design and production capabilities of LiDAR sensors for advanced driver assist (ADAS) applications.
For those unfamiliar with the technology, LiDAR is essentially a radar system that uses lasers.
A LiDAR system determines the position of objects around it by measuring the laser’s time of flight.
LiDAR was first used by Mitsubishi 1992 in a distance detection system with the Debonair. The system was marketed as “Distance Warning,” which alerted drivers when they were too close to surrounding vehicles, though without influencing the throttle, shifting gears or breaking.
LiDAR has also been used in applications including mapping and cartography, oil and gas exploration, archaeology and more.
The technology has been a popular rival of radar and has been used by numerous automotive OEMs ever since. Today, Google’s self-driving car is heavily reliant on LiDAR to interpret its surroundings.
In the infographic below, Frost & Sullivan detail the levels of vehicle automation, from driver-only to driverless cars. Driver assist programs and their varying complexity essentially create a stepping ladder from one level to the next.
As points of comparison, the Autopilot feature of Tesla’s Model S could be classified as Level 2 automation. If the system were to successfully complete public testing and become truly reliable, it could fall under Level 3.
Google’s self-driving car prototype could be classified under Level 4 or maybe even Level 5, if the technology could be mastered.
Developments in LiDAR from Velodyne
Velodyne has previously developed four generations of LiDAR systems incorporating proprietary software and algorithms to interpret 300,000 to 2.2 million data points per second with a range of up to 200 meters at centimeter-level accuracy.
“From the very beginning of our autonomous vehicle program, we saw LiDAR as key enabler due to its sensing capabilities and how it complements radar and cameras,” said Raj Nair, Ford executive VP of product development.
Baidu seems to be following in the footsteps of Google, Facebook and Amazon to make a splash in vehicle data processing – a key factor in developing methods of communication between fleets of self-driving vehicles, which can increase safety.
“Baidu is developing autonomous vehicles with the intention to increase passenger safety and reduce traffic congestion and pollution in China,” said Jing Wang, senior VP of autonomous driving unit of Baidu.
Velodyne itself expects an increase in LiDAR sensor deployments in autonomous vehicles and ADAS applications over the next several years.
The investment from Ford and Baidu will likely be put toward expanding the company’s resources across engineering, operations and manufacturing.
For more information about Velodyne’s ventures in LiDAR, visit velodynelidar.com.
To learn more about how self-driving cars may benefit the economy, keep reading with us here.