US-based near-field flash LiDAR technologies company PreAct Technologies has announced that its patent pending T30P flash LiDAR is the industry’s first sensor designed to be software-definable and integrate easily into a complete autonomous driving system stack for automakers, as well as trucking and robotics applications. 

The company says vehicles with software-defined architectures require sensor technology that can support over-the-air (OTA) updates throughout the life of the vehicle, allowing OEMs to generate ongoing revenue by offering powerful new features and functionality.

Paul Drysch, CEO, PreAct Technologies said, “We are excited to bring our software-definable flash LiDAR to market, furthering the advancement of autonomous mobility across multiple industries. We have spent the last three years creating a solution that fulfils the need of software-defined vehicles, providing the most value for Tier 1s and OEMs over the long term by making any ADAS application relevant for the entire life of the vehicle.”

According to PreAct Technologies as nearly every OEM is integrating high-performance computing into their vehicle and planning for the future, it is committed to working with carmakers on future-proofing vehicles by delivering more sophisticated ADAS and safety applications throughout the life of a vehicle.  The flash LiDAR architecture is based on modulated waveforms that can be optimised for different applications via OTA updates, along with an application stack that resides on the edge.  The flexibility of a software defined LiDAR allows Tier 1 suppliers and OEMs to package one sensor for multiple use cases – everything from true curb detection and gesture recognition to self-parking and automatic door actuation – that can update to meet their changing needs as more user and sensor data become available.

Ian Riches, VP – Global Automotive Practice, Strategy Analytics said, “Near field automotive sensors have either been low-precision and low-cost, or high-precision and high-cost, By bringing a high-precision, low-cost sensor to market, PreAct is enabling a huge range of safety and convenience features. The software-defined characteristics of the T30P will allow these features to improve during the lifetime of the vehicle, unlocking new revenue streams for automakers.”

The T30P has a frame rate of 200 fps and QVGA resolution, which is claimed to be the fastest flash LiDAR on the market making it well suited for ground and air robotics or industrial applications – systems which all share a need for fast, accurate and high-resolution sensors that can reliably define and track objects in all environmental conditions. The PreAct’s T30P Flash LiDAR sensor suite will be available in July 2022.