LiDAR News: Velodyne, Apple, DJI

BusinessWire: Velodyne presents a solid-state Veloarray H800:

"The solid state Velarray H800 is architected for automotive grade performance and built using Velodyne’s breakthrough proprietary micro-lidar array architecture (MLA).

...will be available at high-volume production levels with a target price of less than $500 to drive broad adoption in consumer and commercial vehicle markets.

With a field of view of 120 horizontal degrees by 16 vertical degrees, the Velarray H800... provides perception data at a range of up to 200 meters."

Forbes contributor Sabbir Rangwala analyses iPhone 12 LiDAR impact on the market:

"The LiDAR in Apple’s new iPhone moves 3D imaging from the esoteric to the ordinary. It is a significant boost for the technology, similar to photography's transition in the mid-2000s from a specialized world of cameras and lenses to a simple finger-click that can be relished and shared via a general-purpose smartphone by billions of consumers.

Some automotive LiDAR companies are pursuing similar architectures as the iPhone 12 (8XX/9XX nm VCSELs and SPADs). This includes Sense Photonics, Ouster, Opsys Tech, and ZF/Ibeo. Lumentum reportedly supplies VCSELs for the iPhone 12 LiDAR and is also making a focused effort to penetrate the automotive LiDAR market."

CNET quotes iPhone 12 depth accuracy data, as measured by Occipital's VPs of Product Alex Schiff and Anton Yakubenko using their Canvas 3D scanning application:

"The iPhone 12 version of Canvas takes more detailed scans than the first version on the iPad Pro earlier this year, mostly because of iOS 14's deeper access to lidar information, according to Occipital. The newest lidar-enabled version is accurate within a 1% range.

Yakubenko says by Occipital's previous measurements, Apple's iPad Pro lidar offers 574 depth points per frame on a scan, but depth maps can jump up to 256x192 points in iOS 14 for developers. This builds out more detail through AI and camera data."

Fstoppers: DJI adds a LiDAR AF sensor to its RS2 gimbal so that any manual focus lens can be turned into AF one: