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Nikon will help build Velodyne's lidar sensors for future self-driving cars
With the notable exception of one automaker, most companies are generally in agreement that lidar is a vital component of the hardware necessary to enable some degree of vehicle autonomy. However, with all that demand out there, any company that wants its product all over the industry will need to build at scale. To achieve that scale, one lidar manufacturer is reaching out to a company with a lot of lens experience.
Velodyne announced on Thursday that it has signed an agreement with Nikon, in which the company most famous for its cameras will manufacture lidar sensors for Velodyne. Nikon plans to start mass production of Velodyne's lidar in the second half of 2019.
"Mass production of our high-performance lidar sensors is key to advancing Velodyne's immediate plans to expand sales in North America, Europe, and Asia," said Marta Hall, president of Velodyne Lidar, in a statement. "It is our goal to produce lidar in the millions of units with manufacturing partners such as Nikon. Working with Nikon, an expert in precision manufacturing, is a major step toward lowering the cost of our lidar products."
Nikon has already invested $25 million in Velodyne's business, so this manufacturing announcement represents the first big step in their partnership. Velodyne didn't specify how else the two companies plan to join forces, saying only that the pair "will continue to investigate further areas of a wide-ranging and multifaceted business alliance." Velodyne did say, though, that it wants its lidar to be used beyond automotive applications, including agriculture, mapping and security.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 29 2019, @11:11PM (3 children)
Who buys cameras anymore? Only so many luddites without cellphones.
(Score: 4, Touché) by takyon on Monday April 29 2019, @11:25PM
Tesla buys cameras because LIDAR bad.
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(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 29 2019, @11:51PM
An executive from Rogers once said to me: you have the luxury not to have a cellphone, don't trade it for less than 300k/yr. I have followed that advice, I plateaued at 90k but I have job security and a gold plated pention plan (paid by those indebted students and taxes, mouhahaha) and work 35hr/wk. Being a luddite is great!!
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 30 2019, @12:48AM
1. Article says Nikon are going to make LIDAR equipment for this project/client.
2. Note that optical systems have outperformed LIDAR and don't have side-effects like ruining other equipment.
3. Obviously you are a luddite, happy with the crappy images from your mega-spy-phone. Real cameras are a different beast.
4. Companies like Nikon and Canon are diversifying as (real) camera sales drop sharply. The vast majority are #3 people...