3D auto-lidar firm PixQuanta joins ESA Business Incubator at Tyndall

11 Nov 2019

Irish start-up is developing photodiode sensor for use in 3D cameras to improve range and accuracy.

David Gibbons, Kevin O'Neill, and Prof. William Scanlon.

PixQuanta, a company developing technology to improve the range and accuracy in 3D automotive LiDAR, has joined the Tyndall National Institute-led business incubator at the European Space Agency (ESA) Space Solutions Centre Ireland.

The startup company, based in Cork, Ireland, is developing a photodiode sensor platform technology, for use in 3D cameras that improves range and accuracy at a lower cost and using less power than current solutions.

The growth in technologies supporting autonomous cars and driver assistance means the automotive market is a key focus area for PixQuanta. However, it comments that there could also be applications in drones, facial recognition or in space through weather sensing, locating and tracking space debris, and proximity sensing of other satellites.

Diverse applications

Furthermore, PixQuanta’s technology can also significantly improve the performance of current healthcare X-ray imaging systems, the company stated in its latest announcement. Funding from the ESA will allow PixQuanta to increase the overall technology readiness level of its platform technology.

Kevin O’Neill, CEO of PixQuanta, commented, “We are delighted for PixQuanta to join the ESA-BIC to develop our exciting photodiode technology for space applications. The support provided through ESA-BIC, together with the access to substantial funding available through ESA contracts, enables us to leverage Tyndall's technology expertise to achieve the highest performing and safest 3D-LiDAR solution with the lowest power, highest reliability, at the lowest possible cost.”

Manager of ESA Space Solutions Centre Ireland, David Gibbons, said he was delighted to welcome a company with the potential of PixQuanta to Ireland’s ESA BIC, which is jointly funded by ESA and Enterprise Ireland.

“We are growing rapidly and 15 exciting companies joined ESA BIC already. PixQuanta is utilising space technology in an exciting new dawn in human history, as the technological revolution grows at an exponential pace. Companies like PixQuanta are enabling the future in which we will live, using space technology for everyday uses in the likes of self-driving vehicles and drones,” he said.

Gibbons added: “ESA BIC has seen a whole range of companies join, with focus ranging from healthcare to information and communications technology (ICT). The solutions these firms are providing will all have a major say in how we live long into the future.”