Velodyne releases ‘breakthrough’ LiDAR sensor
According to the company, the new VLS-128 LiDAR sensor delivers 10 times higher resolving power than its predecessor, the HDL-64 sensor, allowing it to see objects more clearly and from greater distances. Featuring 128 laser channels, the device is claimed to offer the highest resolution, longest range, and the widest surround field-of-view of any LiDAR system available today.
“The VLS-128 is the best LiDAR sensor on the planet, delivering the most advanced real-time 3D vision for safe driving,” says Mike Jellen, President, Velodyne LiDAR. “Automotive OEMs and new tech entrants in the autonomous space have been hoping and waiting for this breakthrough.”
According to the company, the ultra-high resolution of the VLS-128 provides the most advanced safety capabilities on the market for cars driving at all speeds, and especially at highway speeds when decisions are made in a split second. The VLS-128 technology, says the company, provides three major advances for autonomous driving:
- The VLS-128’s high-resolution data can also be used directly for object detection without additional sensor fusion, which improves the safety and redundancy of the autonomous vehicle’s compute function and reduces overall compute complexity
- With its long range and high-resolution data, the VLS-128 allows autonomous vehicles to function equally as well in highway scenarios and low-speed urban environments. It is designed to solve for all corner cases needed for full autonomy in highway scenarios, allowing for expanded functionality and increased testing in new environments.
- Based on mass-produced semiconductor technologies, the VLS-128 is designed for automated assembly in Velodyne’s Megafactory using a proprietary laser alignment and manufacturing system to meet the growing global demand for LiDAR-based vision systems.
“The Velodyne VLS-128 is an all-out assault on high-performance LiDAR for autonomous vehicles,” says David Hall, Founder and CEO, Velodyne LiDAR. “With this product, we are redefining the limits of LiDAR and we will be able to see things no one has ever been able to see with this technology.”
Velodyne plans to produce the VLS-128 in scale at the company’s Megafactory in San Jose. It says it will be shipping the VLS-128 by the end of 2017.
Related articles:
Hi-resolution LiDAR gets compact and affordable
Velodyne aims to make one million LiDAR sensors a year by 2018
Ford, Baidu invest in Velodyne LiDAR
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