Velodyne Lidar Advances Driver Safety with New Products at CES 2020

Small Form Factor, High Performance Make Velodyne Lidar Ideal Choice for ADAS to Protect Pedestrians, Assist Drivers and Save Lives

Velodyne Lidar, Inc. will introduce and demonstrate its groundbreaking new lidar sensor technology at CES 2020 in the Las Vegas Convention Center North Hall – booth #7520. Velodyne will highlight its lidar technology that enables high-level Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) for safe navigation and collision avoidance, all within compact form factors.

Velodyne will host an in-booth press conference to announce a breakthrough lidar sensor that sets a new industry benchmark for size, versatility and affordability, exciting new ADAS software, partnerships and customer relationships on Tuesday, January 7, at 11:00 a.m. PST.

Velodyne will demonstrate how its lidar sensors and Vella™ software can be applied to create powerful ADAS solutions with improved safety, including pedestrian and bicyclist avoidance, lane keeping assist, automatic braking and more. Employing lidar, along with a few inexpensive cameras for redundancy, is a revolutionary approach to safety, allowing vehicles to detect and avoid objects in a range of environmental conditions and roadway settings. To achieve safe deployment of autonomous technology, most leaders agree redundant systems with both lidar and cameras are a must.

“Automakers can greatly improve the effectiveness and efficiency of driver-assist and safety features by employing Velodyne hardware and software in their ADAS solutions,” said Anand Gopalan, Chief Technology Officer, Velodyne Lidar. “CES attendees will be able to learn how Velodyne sensors can be seamlessly integrated within consumer vehicles, and how greater safety can be achieved on the roadway by using our solutions. They will also see how Velodyne continues to raise the bar with innovative technologies for lidar-based driver safety.”

At CES, Velodyne will present its proposed Five Diamonds rating system to clarify and standardize terminology for ADAS features. The system aims to encourage transparency in the marketplace and promote the maximum positive effect of ADAS technologies. Velodyne is working with automotive safety organizations, in collaboration with SAE International, to foster an industry dialogue to refine and advance the system with the goal of improving driver and pedestrian safety.

Velodyne’s High Performance Sensor Technologies on Display

Velodyne product demonstrations at CES will include:

Velodyne Alpha Prime™, utilizing Velodyne’s patented surround view technology, this next-generation sensor delivers the highest combined performance specifications for the autonomous mobility industry in one sensor. The Alpha Prime is an unmatched solution in perception, field-of-view and range for autonomous markets including transportation, trucking and robotics.

Velodyne Velarray™, a powerful sensor solution to greatly improve automated safety. The small, embeddable form factor enables the sensor to be elegantly integrated into vehicles. The Velarray allows automakers to create superior ADAS and address edge-cases for current approaches, including curvy roads, potholes, intersections, on/off ramps, residential areas and roadways with unclear lane markings.

Velodyne VelaDome™, specially designed for high resolution close-range sensing, the VelaDome’s small form factor is perfect for a variety of mounting and styling options. With an industry-leading 180° x 180° FoV and the ability to detect objects as close as 0.1 m, this revolutionary sensor’ s near-field detection and high-density image satisfies a range of automotive applications, including blind spot monitoring.

Velodyne Vella, advanced driver assistance software that builds upon the directional view Velarray sensor. Vastly superior to ADAS approaches that utilize only camera+radar, this solution is revolutionizing capabilities currently on the market, such as lane keeping assist, automatic emergency braking and adaptive cruise control.

Velodyne Puck 32MR™, a lidar sensor which produces a point cloud with minimal noise and the ability to detect low reflectivity objects at a range of 120 meters. By combining high-resolution 3D perception with a broad vertical field of view, the Puck 32MR accurately detects crosswalks, curbs and obstacles in warehouse aisles for safe and efficient navigation in roadway, commercial and industrial settings.

State-of-the-Art Customer and Partner Autonomous Solutions

Velodyne will present products and presentations from its network of customers and partners that are using lidar technology in a range of innovative solutions including automotive, mapping, on-demand mobility, robotics, security, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and more. These companies include AGC, AutonomouStuff, DeepMap, Emesent, GeoSLAM, Idriverplus, Infinite Computer Solutions, Knightscope, NVIDIA, Paracosm and Tacticaware.

AGC. AGC is a world-leading supplier of flat, automotive and display glass, as well as chemicals and other high-tech materials and components. AGC Wideye™ infrared transparent automotive-grade glass, combined with Velodyne Velarray, provides an ADAS and autonomous solution featuring both seamless design and safer perception.

AutonomouStuff. AutonomouStuff provides the industry’s most advanced organizations with the best products, software and engineering services to enable, accelerate and deploy robotics and autonomy. Customers value the convenience of finding the most cutting-edge modular-based automation software solutions, engineering services, perception, computing, GNSS+INS and interface components from one knowledgeable source.

DeepMap. DeepMap is accelerating safe autonomy by providing the world’s best autonomous mapping and localization solutions. DeepMap delivers the technology necessary for self-driving vehicles to navigate in a complex and unpredictable environment. The company addresses three important elements: precise high-definition mapping, ultra-accurate real-time localization, and the serving infrastructure to support massive global scaling.

Emesent. Emesent develops innovative autonomy and mapping solutions for the infrastructure and mining industries. Their leading lidar mapping solution, Hovermap, allows drones to map and fly autonomously in challenging GPS-denied environments such as underground mines, delivering revolutionary efficiency, safety and operational insights to their customers.

GeoSLAM. GeoSLAM is a global market leader in 3D geospatial technology solutions. Its unique “go-anywhere” technology is adaptable to all environments especially spaces that are indoor, underground or difficult to access, providing accurate 3D mapping without the need for GPS.

Idriverplus. Idriverplus is one of the first companies in China to launch the commercialization of driverless technology and realize mass production. It uses Velodyne’s lidar sensors in a range of commercial autonomous vehicles including street cleaners, passenger cars and logistics vehicles.

Infinite Computer Solutions. Infinite is a leading technology company providing digital transformation solutions that can be deployed rapidly per customer needs – a concept it calls Platformization™. Platformization is a new culture of innovation that creates a complete suite of technology solutions for companies across various industries including healthcare, BFSI, media & publishing, telecom & technology and government.

Knightscope. Knightscope is an advanced security technology company based in Silicon Valley. The company builds fully autonomous security robots that deter, detect and report and currently has clients spanning 15 states and four time zones operating 24/7/365. Knightscope’s long-term ambition is to make the United States of America the safest country in the world.

NVIDIA. Tapping into more than a decade of AI expertise, NVIDIA DRIVE™ hardware and software platforms deliver industry-leading performance inside the data center and the vehicle to help automakers, truck makers, tier 1 suppliers and startups make autonomous driving a reality.

Paracosm. Paracosm, a division of Occipital, Inc., develops mobile lidar scanning technology and visualization tools for the documentation of both indoor and outdoor spaces. Paracosm was founded in 2013 in Gainesville, Fla., and became a part of Occipital in 2017.

Tacticaware. Tacticaware’s Accur8vision is an expanded perimetric security system. Unlike conventional systems that typically only guard perimeters, A8V guards the entire area of a patrolled space. If the intruder enters the guarded area, the system is notified. The operator will have information based on the exact location, size and speed of the intruder. Even the trajectory of an intruder’s movements will be known.

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