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10 Sep 2024
Autonomy pioneer says its frequency-modulated continuous-wave technology is now 'less essential' for automated driving.
Mobileye, the Israeli company behind many of the recent advances in automated driving technology, is to shut down its lidar development unit.
The move is expected to be completed by the end of the year and will impact around 100 employees at the firm, which is majority-owned by chip giant Intel.
Mobileye had been working on frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) lidar, a more advanced form of the technology that can be shrunk to the size of a chip and is capable of determining both the location and velocity of objects around a moving car.
“As part of our regular review of the long-term technology roadmap, we now believe that the availability of next-generation FMCW lidar is less essential to our roadmap for eyes-off systems,” announced the Jerusalem-headquartered company.
“This decision was based on a variety of factors, including substantial progress on our EyeQ6-based computer vision perception, increased clarity on the performance of our internally developed imaging radar, and continued better-than-expected cost reductions in third-party time-of-flight lidar units.”
Silicon photonics
Mobileye’s CEO and founder Amnon Shashua had outlined the firm’s lidar development plans in a keynote talk at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) back in 2021, saying at the time that the FMCW version would be deployed by 2025.
The approach appeared to have been prompted partly by prior silicon photonics research at Intel aimed at fabricating lidar chips featuring both active and passive optical elements.
Rather than “fusing” inputs from cameras, radar, and lidar sensors to view the highly dynamic environment around a moving vehicle, Mobileye’s strategy has been to generate two independent viewing channels - one created by the camera suite, and the second from a combination of radar and lidar data.
Prior to the anticipated arrival of FMCW lidar, the company said it would be deploying Luminar Technologies sensing systems for robotaxi applications.
Mobileye says it has been spending around $60 million per year on lidar research, out of a company development budget totaling approximately $1 billion.
“This action does not impact any of our customer product programs or product development in general,” added the firm.
“It also has no bearing on Mobileye’s commitment to development of our in-house imaging radar, which is meeting performance specifications based on B-samples and is expected to enter production next year, on schedule.
“In terms of Mobileye’s internal sensor development, imaging radar is a strategic priority. This is a core building-block technology that we expect to drive competitive advantage for Mobileye-based eyes-off systems in cost/performance optimization and scalability.”
Luminar hails Volvo EX90 launch
Meanwhile Luminar’s 1550 nm fiber laser-based approach is currently hitting the road on board Volvo’s just-launched “EX90” electric sports-utility vehicle (SUV) - the first from the safety-conscious auto firm to feature lidar.
“Born smart and connected with Google built-in, the EX90 is equipped with a range of sensors, including radars, cameras, and a lidar supplied by Luminar for enhanced safety,” announced Volvo Cars.
In April, Luminar said that it had begun series production of systems destined for the new vehicle, after software delays had pushed back the launch date from 2023.
Describing the Volvo ramp as the “iPhone moment” for autonomous driving, Luminar CEO Austin Russell said: “In 2020, Volvo bucked the trend when they announced this strategy, opting to focus on enhancing drivers through improved safety and advancing assisted/autonomous features, rather than looking to replace drivers with robotaxis like most other automakers.
“The intervening years have proven this was the right approach. With Volvo, Luminar has developed a ~$2 billion technology platform that’s expandable to vehicles across the industry. That’s exactly what’s happening next - the EX90 is the first of two-dozen commercial programs to follow, and a vision for the future of automotive.”
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