Velodyne Lidar, Inc. will introduce and demonstrate its breakthrough new lidar sensor technology at CES 2019. Velodyne will present product demonstrations showing how lidar is advancing vehicle autonomy, safety, and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). The in-booth press conference will announce exciting collaborations and strategic partnerships, never-before-seen products, and customer achievements on Wednesday, January 9, at 11:00 a.m. PST.
Velodyne’s Augmented Reality demonstration allows people to experience how autonomous vehicles see the world. (Graphic: Business Wire)
Velodyne will showcase a wide array of products that fully meet all of the auto industry’s lidar needs, including new products to address directional and short-range sensing with trailblazing technology and performance. Velodyne will also introduce complete lidar-based safety solutions that incorporate Velodyne hardware and software. For more details, please see the Velodyne CES new product release on Tuesday, January 8, at 9:00 a.m. PST.
“The new products we are unveiling at CES advance Velodyne’s leadership position in providing the smartest, most powerful lidar solutions for autonomy and driver assistance,” said Anand Gopalan, Ph.D., Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at Velodyne Lidar. “Delivering integrated hardware and software safety solutions is extremely valuable to automakers with the technologies seamlessly working together to provide breakthrough advanced driver assistance systems.”
At CES, live demonstrations of Velodyne’s lidar sensors will show their industry-leading combination of long range, high resolution, and wide field of view. Visitors to the Velodyne booth can experience a lidar point cloud via augmented reality. Velodyne partners also will lead in-booth presentations, unveil new technologies, and demonstrate lidar’s use in autonomy, marine, agriculture, and emerging industries.
Velodyne demonstrations at CES will include:
Velodyne Alpha Puck: The culmination of ten years of lidar development and learning from millions of road miles, the Alpha Puck is a sensor specifically made for autonomous driving and advanced vehicle safety at highway speeds. Perfect for Level 4-5 autonomy, the sensor produces an image best described as “stunning,” with the highest resolution data set in the world. It boasts the longest range for highway driving and maximum safety.
Velodyne Velarray: The Velarray’s best-in-class range, resolution, and field of view facilitate robust object detection, allowing for longer braking distance and increased safety. Designed for seamless vehicle integration, this compact sensor generates a richly-detailed directional image, day or night. It can be concealed within roof lines, in bumpers, and – as demonstrated at CES – behind windshields.
The Velodyne booth will also feature Velodyne’s Augmented Reality demonstration that allows people to experience how autonomous vehicles see the world.
“At CES, people can come to the Velodyne booth to experience how our intelligent lidar sensors are enabling autonomous vehicles on the road today,” said Mike Jellen, president and chief commercial officer of Velodyne Lidar. “They can see how Velodyne’s rich computer perception data helps determine the safest way to navigate and direct a self-driving vehicle. Visitors to our booth can also learn how Velodyne’s versatile lidar sensors are utilized in a myriad of trailblazing applications in addition to self-driving cars and driver assistance, including unmanned aerial vehicles, mapping, industrial safety, robotics, security, and more.”
Cutting-Edge Customer and Partner Solutions
Velodyne will present products and presentations from its network of customers and partners that are using lidar technology in a range of innovative solutions. These partners include Accur8vision, AGC, Apex.AI, AutonomouStuff, DeepMap, Local Motors, MechaSpin, and Paracosm.
Accur8vision: Equipped with Velodyne lidar, Accur8vision provides an innovative approach to the security sector. Accur8vision is a volumetric detection system that protects an entire area needing to be secured, compared to perimetric detection which only guards the boundary. With Accur8vision and Velodyne lidar sensors, any intruder who enters the guarded area will never go undetected.
AGC: A world-leading supplier of flat, automotive, and display glass, as well as chemicals and other high-tech materials and components, AGC will showcase windshield technology from its WIDEYE task force. Wideye™ is focused on autonomous vehicles and solid-state lidar integration solutions. Combined with the Velarray™ sensor for an interactive demo in Velodyne’s booth, WIDEYE’s infrared transparent automotive-grade glass provides an ADAS and autonomous solution featuring both seamless design and safer perception.
Apex.AI: Apex.AI builds reliable, safe, and certified software for autonomous vehicles and other autonomous mobility systems. Apex.OS is an SDK compatible ROS 2 (Robot Operating System). It provides a production-grade, safety-certified real-time framework for developing safe and secure autonomous vehicle applications. Apex.Autonomy provides functional building blocks for autonomous vehicles on top of Apex.OS, such as libraries for 3D lidar perception including integration of Velodyne lidars.
AutonomouStuff: AutonomouStuff provides the best R&D platforms, products, software, and engineering services to aid in the advancement of robotics and autonomy. The company has provided solutions for automated driving to thousands of customers worldwide. In order to continue to rise up, companies must surround themselves with the best. This industry is no different. That is why AutonomouStuff chooses to surround itself with a market leader like Velodyne.
DeepMap: HD mapping is a crucial piece of the autonomous vehicle stack that needs to be robust, reliable, and highly scalable. DeepMap provides state-of-the-art mapping and localization to autonomous vehicles as a service. DeepMap helps its customers expedite their autonomous vehicle technology development in a safe and scalable way. Velodyne’s lidar is widely used by DeepMap and its customers for autonomous driving as well as mapping and localization.
Local Motors by LMI: Local Motors will show the world’s first co-created, electric, and self-driving shuttle, Olli. On display will be a current R&D prototype made of a nearly 90 percent 3D-Printed Olli and integrates a range of Velodyne sensors. Local Motors partnered with Velodyne to showcase how Velodyne sensors allow Olli to not only see in 360 degrees, but also ensures coverage of multiple overlapping areas at greater distance with more reliability.
MechaSpin: An industry-leading lidar sensor integrator, MechaSpin will showcase how it has utilized Velodyne’s lidar technology to develop an ecosystem of capabilities to provide solutions in the maritime, intermodal, agriculture, and material handling industries. MechaSpin’s proprietary MSx Processing Engine enables rapid adoption and integration of lidar sensor technology for custom applications.
Paracosm: Paracosm, a division of Occipital, develops PX-80, a handheld 3D mapping device that captures large-scale indoor and outdoor spaces in minutes using Velodyne’s Puck™ sensor. Its CES presentation will highlight exciting, real-world customer use cases from scanning aircraft hangars to the Amazon rainforest for a virtual reality film.
