Sense Photonics launches platform for mass-production Lidar...

05 Jul 2021

...as Ouster partners with Danfoss to drive adoption of Lidar technologies.

Sense Photonics, a flash Lidar solutions provider, has launched what it calls “the first flexible, scalable, high-performance automotive Lidar platform to enable widespread ADAS and AV system adoption for any vehicle.”

Driven by Sense’s patented VCSEL laser emitter and SPAD receiver technologies, the new platform delivers “the richest data point clouds at the highest sample points per second [PPS] of any automotive Lidar system,” added the Durham, NC-based firm.

Sense’s camera-like design illuminates the entire scene and utilizes global shutter acquisition to capture all data points in a frame within the field-of-view simultaneously. This allows vehicles and other objects to be imaged without any motion distortion or data gaps.

Sense and sensitivity

The platform can provide more than 10 million PPS to enable unmatched 3D vision, compared to 2 million PPS found in legacy scanning Lidar systems. This increase in 3D data density has significant implications for ADAS and AV applications, says Sense, “because it provides vehicles with the information density to classify and act on data up to five times faster than other systems.”

Co-Founder Scott Burroughs commented, “From a safety standpoint, motion blur and reaction time are critical issues when a vehicle is traveling at highway speeds. An autonomous system requires precise depth data in real-time to be aware of the vehicle’s surroundings, particularly in dynamic environments.

“Data gaps found in legacy scanning systems increase the likelihood to miss small objects, parking lot gates, or even road debris. Only a true solid-state flash Lidar can provide uniform high-resolution information across the entire field-of-view without motion blur or data gaps — which is exactly what we’ve developed,” he said.

Sense Photonics also announced a development program with “a major Detroit-based automotive OEM”. Shauna McIntyre, Sense CEO, commented, “As our focus shifts from technology development to commercialization and production, this development agreement is a clear sign that our flexible architecture is the right solution for mass market automotive OEMs.”

Ouster partners with Danfoss to drive take up of Lidar

Ouster, a developer of high-resolution digital lidar sensors, has partnered with Danfoss Power Solutions to accelerate the adoption of Ouster’s digital lidar sensors and provide seamless, turnkey implementation for end users.

Danfoss provides mobile hydraulic and electrification products and solutions for the construction, agriculture and other on-highway and off-highway vehicle markets, supporting OEM customers and its network of distribution partners.

Ouster sensors will be the first lidar hardware to be offered through the new Danfoss PLUS+1 Partner Program, designed to expedite the development process. This integration is intended for applications such as remote machine management, operator assistance, row following, obstacle avoidance, and task automation.

“This partnership will enable our customers to quickly and easily integrate Ouster lidar into their systems, improving our customers’ time to market and increasing their ability to incorporate operator assist and autonomous solutions into their machines,” commented Peter Bleday, Head of Autonomous Vehicles at Danfoss Power Solutions.

The PLUS+1 Partner Program is a select group of companies with complementary products, including microcontrollers, joysticks, hydraulic pumps, and radar sensors, that integrate into PLUS+1 systems. Ouster’s OS sensors will be a part of the PLUS+1 Autonomy offering, including the new XM100 Autonomous Controller and PLUS+1 Autonomous Control Library. The Ouster compliance block is expected to be released in Q4, 2021, with a beta version available immediately.