EETimes article on LiDAR for ADAS

EETimes article argues that LiDARs will be an important component in future ADAS systems.

Link: https://www.eetimes.com/the-future-of-lidar-lies-in-adas/ 

Cars are becoming more and more autonomous, to the point that self-driving is getting close to becoming real. High-performance sensors have enabled an ever-increasing number of advanced driver-assistance system (ADAS) features, such as lane-keeping, adaptive cruise control and structures for detecting blind spots during overtaking.

ADAS serves as a useful tool for drivers as well as a response to the demand for improved safety requirements. LiDAR is one of the most important components of ADAS, as it can be used in adaptive cruise control, blind-spot detection, pedestrian detection and all use cases that require the detection and mapping of objects around the vehicle.

ADAS, which corresponds to Level 2 of the driving automation scale, is now standard in most cars. Sensors that can deliver a high level of safety are required for autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicles. For automotive applications, this means that the sensor must be reliable in all-weather situations and unaffected by factors like sun, rain or fog. LiDAR sensors are also appropriate for use in high-vibration transport systems, such as driverless vehicles, mining, building and agriculture.

The article goes on to discuss two recent trends: solid-state LiDARs and spectrum-scan LiDARs.

Recently, we have witnessed a growing interest in solid-state LiDAR technology, i.e., a system that uses a laser source and a detector and that does not include scanning nor moving parts. Solid-state technology gradually measures and acquires the surrounding environment instead of depending on sequential measurements to send laser light in one direction, gather measurements and then change to another place, as in conventional optical LiDAR.

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The Spectrum-Scan proprietary platform created by Baraja takes a distinct approach from traditional mechanical LiDAR systems. Instead of employing flimsy moving parts and oscillating mirrors to scan the surrounding area, refraction of light through prism-like optics is used. On the other hand, mechanically scanned sensors in the fast axis have expensive, large and prone-to-failure moving parts.