Valeo, the global leader in driving assistance systems (ADAS), has unveiled its third generation scanning LiDAR system which will enable a leap forward in autonomous truck technology. The next generation technology is set to make its market debut in 2024.
This new technology, which offers significantly enhanced performance, makes autonomous mobility a reality and provides previously unseen levels of road safety.
“Valeo’s third generation LiDAR is a major technological advance toward the autonomous vehicle,” said Geoffrey Bouquot, Valeo’s Senior Vice-President, R&D and Strategy. “This upgrade strengthens Valeo’s technological and industrial leadership in the field, when it was already the only supplier on the market currently series-producing an automotive-grade LiDAR scanner. Our number one goal with this device remains the same, to save lives on the road.”
This third generation LiDAR delivers unrivalled performance in terms of range, resolution and frame rate. It reconstructs a 3D real-time image of the vehicle’s surroundings at a rate of 4.5 million pixels and 25 frames per second.
Compared to the previous generation, the resolution has been increased 12-fold, the range is three times further and the viewing angle has increased by a factor of 2.5.
Thanks to these capabilities, this new LiDAR can see things that humans, cameras and radars cannot. This means that driving can be delegated to the vehicle in many situations (including level 2 automation and above), including on the highway at speeds of up to 130km/h.
Valeo claims that even in such situations, a vehicle fitted with the third-generation scanning LiDAR can manage emergency situations autonomously.
Valeo’s scanning LiDAR detects, recognises and classifies all objects located around the vehicle. If the objects are moving, it measures their speed and direction. The scanning LiDAR can adapt to all light conditions, whether it’s dazzlingly bright or pitch black.
It even measures the density of raindrops to calculate the right braking distance. It tracks nearby vehicles, even when they are no longer in the driver’s line of sight, and uses algorithms to anticipate their trajectories and trigger the necessary safety manoeuvres.
