ADAS solutions specialist Valeo has presented its third-generation scanning lidar, set to make its market debut in 2024. The company states that the new technology offers significantly enhanced performance compared with its previous systems.
Geoffrey Bouquot, Valeo’s SVP, R&D and strategy, said, “Valeo’s third-generation lidar is a major technological advance toward the autonomous vehicle. This upgrade strengthens Valeo’s technological and industrial leadership in the field, when it was already the only supplier on the market currently series-producing an automotive-grade lidar scanner. Our number one goal with this device remains the same – to save lives on the road.”
The company says that the third-generation system reconstructs a 3D real-time image of the vehicle’s surroundings at a rate of 4.5 million pixels and 25fps (frames per second). Compared with the previous generation, the resolution has been increased 12-fold, the range three-fold and the viewing angle 2.5-fold.
Valeo states that the scanning lidar is capable of recognizing and classifying all objects located around the car. If the objects are moving, it measures their speed and direction. Furthermore, it can adapt to all light conditions, whether it’s dazzlingly bright or pitch black, while also being able to measure the density of raindrops to calculate the right braking distance.
It tracks nearby vehicles, even when they are no longer in the driver’s line of sight and uses algorithms to anticipate their trajectories and trigger the necessary safety maneuvers. Valeo notes that it designs and manufactures the entire system, including the hardware, the software and the associated artificial intelligence.