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05 Dec 2024
Industrial firm's high-performance contactless sensors set to incorporate FMCW lidar.
SICK, one of the world’s leading providers of industrial sensors, is to start selling products featuring frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) lidar technology.
The contactless devices - used for factory automation applications - will incorporate FMCW sensors developed by California-based Aeva, one of only a handful of photonics companies to focus on the advanced lidar approach. Aeva says it expects to start delivering devices to SICK in the first half of 2025.
Unlike regular lidar, FMCW uses a frequency-chirped rather than a pulsed laser source, meaning that it can capture both distance and velocity data, and is compatible with a wide range of materials and lighting environments.
Although the technology is more complex than conventional lidar, it can also be miniaturized to chip-scale devices and produced in volume.
Indoor and outdoor
Germany-headquartered SICK has already been collaborating with the Mountain View firm for several years, and signed a multi-year development deal in August 2022.
At the time, SICK said that FMCW promised to provide advantages in a variety of industrial sensing applications where traditional time-of-flight lidar technology using pulsed sources faces technical challenges.
Examples include a better dynamic range performance to perceive both low- and high-reflectivity targets within the same measurement without edge effects, and enabling automated machinery to transition easily from indoor to outdoor operation.
Now Simon Brugger, SICK’s senior VP of research and development, says: “We have been working closely with Aeva for several years and are pleased to see their FMCW technology mature for industrial sensing applications.
“With its micron-accurate distance sensing at large stand-off distances and precise velocity detection capabilities, Aeva’s core technology provides great potential for opportunities to serve our customers in a variety of industrial applications where precision contactless sensing is core to their manufacturing automation and industrial processes.”
Lidar-on-chip module
More specifically Aeva will be providing SICK with its “CoreVision” lidar-on-chip sensing module. Based around a proprietary silicon photonics design, it incorporates transmitter, detector, and optical processing elements, and is said to replace the complex optical fiber systems typically used in time-of-flight lidar.
The sensors will also feature Aeva’s digital signal processing algorithms tuned for micrometer-precision detection at long stand-off distances, and micrometer-per-second velocity measurements.
The two firms say that the technology will allow SICK’s sensors to provide precise contactless measurements on a variety of surfaces, and at flexible stand-off distances, regardless of the surface’s material, texture or color, and can be used across a wide variety of lighting conditions.
Aeva CTO and co-founder Mina Rezk commented: “Every day many of the world’s leading manufacturers and industrial companies rely on sensors from SICK to automate their factory production processes and ensure their products meet strict quality standards.
“This selection by SICK is a validation of the industry-leading capabilities, versatility, and the economies of scale for our FMCW technology. We are excited about the expansion of our collaboration and the potential for disrupting the multi-billion dollar precision sensing market together.”
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