Submitted via IRC for ErnestTBass
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: 2) by fyngyrz on Tuesday April 30 2019, @04:25PM (2 children)
What's missing — so far — are inexpensive, high resolution, deep-IR cameras.
In order to see some road hazards in time to react to them, particularly live ones with decent camouflage adaptation, a normal-light camera won't do. A high-IR camera doesn't do the same job, requiring an illuminator, whereas a low-IR camera actually detects living (warmish) things.
There are some low-res low-IR consumer cameras [amazon.com] that are in the sorta-affordable range now, but they're really not up to the task at hand in a vehicle that requires information about what's ahead. The linked example is only about 220x160. And who knows how good it would be across the environmental ranges a vehicle sees.
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(Score: 2) by The Shire on Tuesday April 30 2019, @05:00PM (1 child)
I think the problem with that is that IR does poorly in weather - rain, fog, snow. If you illuminate the area with IR you end up with a whiteout condition on your camera. Radar does a much better job in such conditions.
That being said, I would be curious to see how any self driving system operates in blizzard conditions.
(Score: 2) by fyngyrz on Tuesday April 30 2019, @07:50PM
That's how a high IR camera system works; illuminates in high IR, detects the reflections of same. I'm not talking about that.
Low IR does not require an illuminator, and so does not create a brightly illuminated haze upon intervening particulates.
Low IR in this context is radiant energy that comes from a warm body, essentially it is a measure of its warmth; a low IR camera detects this and presents an image of same.
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