Virtual prototyping company OPTIS has announced a partnership with LeddarTech Inc., the developer and owner of Leddar, a patented digital signal processing technology used in automotive solid-state LiDARs.
The partnership will see the development of LiDAR simulation software geared toward the self-driving car industry, and will allow companies to virtually test and integrate their next generation of LiDAR solutions developed around the LeddarCore integrated circuit (IC) before its release. The LeddarCore IC is the industry’s first 3D solid-state LiDAR solution that enables the mass production of powerful automotive-grade LiDARs.
“With the accelerated development pace of autonomous driving capabilities and the ongoing race to commercialize mass-market solutions on production vehicles, solutions that optimize the development and integration cycles of new technologies add significant value,” said Michael Poulin, general manager of LeddarTech’s Automotive Solutions . “OPTIS’s optical simulation tools play a huge role in giving a head start to OEMs and Tier-1 suppliers developing with the LeddarCore ICs. By providing an autonomous vehicle simulator that makes the same decisions as a real-world connected vehicle, the tool helps to eliminate costly and risky real-world tests of new LiDAR systems and contributes to reducing their time to market,” continued Poulin.
OPTIS has many years of experience in the simulation of optics, and was the first company to offer laser propagation simulation, as well as optical calculations for CAD. For these reasons, OPTIS is perfectly suited to partner with LeddarTech, which was founded in 2007 as a successful spin-off of Canada’s leading optics and photonics research institute.
LiDAR is a key enabler of self-driving technology in the area of environmental hazard detection, helping cars to navigate safely. The partnership between OPTIS and LeddarTech will enable the simulation of the LiDAR cameras and help OEMs to design and test robust sensor systems for their vehicles.
“We are proud to partner with a technology leader that has key LiDAR expertise and strategic relationships in the automotive industry,” said Gilles Gallée, business development director for Autonomous Driving and Simulation at OPTIS. “The technological collaboration between our two companies creates a comprehensive solution that benefits customers and the autonomous driving market as a whole.”