Velodyne to showcase its latest Lidar Range at CES 2018

Silicon Valley-based technology company Velodyne will demonstrate its LiDAR products, including a solid state Velarray, which it claims is the smallest LiDAR, in a form factor that can be concealed behind windshields, within roof lines, and in bumpers.

The company says its VLS-128 has the highest resolution and longest range, and is considered the highest performing LiDAR in the world today. “We have customers that demand the best perception systems for their fully autonomous vehicle programs, and the VLS-128 delivers. Other customers seek ADAS L2-4 functionality from our consumer-grade Velarray LiDAR, which provides the power of Velodyne perception in a format perfect for vehicles today,” said Mike Jellen, president and CCO, Velodyne.

The Velodyne VLS-128 which was recently announced is equipped with 128 laser channels and best-in-class sensing for autonomous vehicles, which provides the trifecta of long-range, high-resolution, and the widest surround field-of-view. The company claims it is the only sensor that allows autonomous vehicles to function just as well at highway speeds as low-speed urban environments.

The Velodyne Velarray is its solid-state LiDAR which enables hidden and low-profile sensing for a range of ADAS and autonomous applications. It features an industry-leading 3D field of view in a small form factor, which the company claims is a cost effective, high performance LiDAR, with revolutionary technology.

The Velodyne VLP-16, which the company claims is one of the most widely adopted LiDAR sensors and the product now has received a 50 percent price reduction, allowing for its continued expansion of use worldwide. The new pricing is a direct result of the large-scale manufacturing at the company’s plant, which leverages advanced automation to build a range of LiDAR sensors.

Additionally, the company will also showcase a range of exhibitions and demonstrations from its broad ecosystem of hundreds of customers and partners that are developing new use cases for advanced LiDAR technology, including NAVYA, AGC, AutonomouStuff, Paracosm, mapper.ai, and Deep Maps.

Velodyne says that NAVYA’s Autonom Cab is the first fully autonomous taxi on the market, which it will showcase for the first time in the United States at its booth. The vehicle has a capacity for one to six passengers. It is equipped with one of the most advanced sensor architectures on the market, with no fewer than 10 LiDAR sensors, six cameras, and four radar units.

The Dibotics is its real-time LiDAR processing (SLAM on Chip) product, it features augmented LiDAR technology using VLP-16, VLP-32, and HDL-32C sensors: precise localisation and ego-motion without requiring IMU, live 3D Mapping, point-wise classification, object detection and tracking, and ‘calibration-less’ multi-LiDAR fusion.

Its partner AGC – a world-leading supplier of flat, automotive and display glass, chemicals, and other high-tech materials and components – will showcase windshield technology from its new WIDEYE task force, which is focused on autonomous vehicles. The windshield is equipped with Velarray sensor – a infrared transparent automotive glass that provides an ADAS and autonomous solution that’s fully protected and totally hidden inside the vehicle cabin.