LiDAR News: Velodyne, Aeye, Livox, Robosense, Hesai

BusinessWire: Velodyne introduced the Puck 32MR, a cost-effective perception solution for low speed autonomous markets including industrial vehicles, robotics, shuttles and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The Puck 32MR has a range of 120m and a 40-deg vertical FoV.

“We are proud to announce the Puck 32MR as the latest addition to our broad array of lidar products,” said Anand Gopalan, CTO of Velodyne Lidar. “Velodyne continues to innovate lidar technologies that empower autonomous solutions on a global scale. This product fills a need for an affordable mid-range sensor, which our customers expressed, and we took to heart. We strive to meet our customers’ needs, and the Puck 32MR is another example of our versatility within an evolving industry.”

The Puck 32MR is designed for power-efficiency to extend vehicle operating time within broad temperature and environmental ranges without the need for active cooling. The sensor uses proven 905nm Class 1 eye-safe lasers and is assembled in Velodyne’s state-of-the-art manufacturing facility. The Puck 32MR is designed for scalability and priced attractively for volume customers, although the exact price is not announced.

Aeye publishes its corporate promotional video:



Autosens publishes Aeye presentation "RGBD based deep neural networks for road obstacle detection and classification:"



Livox explains how it has achieved the low cost of its LiDARs:

"Traditionally, high-performance mechanical LiDAR products usually demand highly-skilled personnel and are therefore prohibitively expensive and in short supply. To encourage the adoption of LiDAR technology in a number of different industries ranging from 3D mapping and surveying to robotics and engineering, Livox Mid-40/Mid-100 is developed with cost-efficiency in mind while still maintaining superior performance. The mass production of Livox-40 has reached hundreds daily.

Instead of using expensive laser emitters or immature MEMS scanners, Mid-40/Mid-100 adopts lower cost semiconductor components for light generation and detection. The entire optical system, including the scanning units, uses proven and readily available optical components such as those employed in the optical lens industry. This sensor also introduces a uniquely-designed low cost signal acquisition method to achieve superior performance. All these factors contribute to an accessible price point - $599 for a single unit of Mid-40.

Livox Mid-40/Mid-100 adopts a large aperture refractive scanning method that utilizes a coaxial design. This approach uses far fewer laser detector pairs, yet maintains the high point density and detection distances. This design dramatically reduces the difficulty of optical alignment during production and enable significant production yield increase."

BusinessWire, Law.com, Quartz: Velodyne files patent infringement complaints against Robosense (AKA Suteng) and Hesai to the US District Court for the Northern District of California. Velodyne said the two Chinese companies have “threatened Velodyne and its business” by copying its LiDAR technology.

"Although styled in some instances as “solid state” devices, the Robosense Accused Products include, literally or under the doctrine of equivalents, a rotary component configured to rotate the plurality of laser emitters and the plurality of avalanche photodiode detectors at a speed of at least 200 RPM. For example, the RS-LiDAR-16 device rotates at a rate of 300 to 1200 RPM. The laser channels and APDs are attached to a rotating motor inside the LiDAR housing."