Demand Soon To Come From Semi-Autonomous Driving Application
Recent announcements involving new LiDAR partnerships suggest the importance of relationships between Tier 1 vendors, such as Continental and ZF, and start-ups developing the enabling technology, such as by AEye and IBEO. The latest report “Tier 1 Vendors Control High Resolution LiDAR’s Destiny,” from the Strategy Analytics Autonomous Vehicle Service (AVS), looks at their role in screening new LiDAR technologies, from experience in cameras that are also used in Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), in certifying and validating final sensor modules, in high volume manufacturing and from understanding the needs of their OEM customers.
As with many growth areas in automotive, LiDAR has seen a considerable amount of investment in a large number of mostly start-up companies. Promoting their competing technologies with “religious fervor,” these companies are hoping to be the ones that will win business in a potentially large long-term market, as auto makers start to offer autonomous driving features. Buzz words in their promotion include “solid state” – the absence of moving parts that can enhance reliability and robustness; and “FMCW” or “Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave” that can directly measure the velocity of the target, lessen interference and raise sensitivity. “While such technologies show promise, they have not yet been proven in automotive, so the market will see a more evolutionary approach to LiDAR development,” says Kevin Mak, principal analyst in the Global Automotive Practice (GAP).
Strategy Analytics “Tier 1 Vendors Control High Resolution LiDAR’s Destiny” report provides a LiDAR demand forecast and a review of the various approaches in transmitting laser light, scanning the Field of View, receiving the return signals and processing the data to enable the reliable and accurate detection of objects, including curb stones for autonomous vehicles to avoid. This report also covers various technologies in laser diodes and photodiodes, as well as software, used in LiDARs.
