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Luminar Technologies Inc., recently announced that it would be releasing a new LiDAR system.
Luminar Technologies Inc., recently announced that it would be releasing a new LiDAR technology, one which could reportedly “revolutionize” the automotive industry, more exactly, the self-driving one.
Luminar Is One Of The Latest Companies To Join The Ever Increasing Autonomous Vehicle Sector
Luminar’s just the latest company to enter the self-driving automotive industry as it reportedly emerged from “stealth mode”. As it is, the firm can already boast with a production facility and its own product. This former is a 50,000-square foot factory located in Orlando.
The facility will be used in constructing the company’s LiDAR system, which was presented in quite a daring way. This will reportedly include a very high sensor performance and also a large range. Seen as one of the technology’s key components, the range is also one of the biggest challenges for a developer.
Luminar’s statement claims that its product “ has the ability to see 50 times greater resolution and 10 times longer range than current systems.”
The firm stated that it is already manufacturing this new system. It is reportedly in the midst of a production run with some “four major autonomous vehicle programs” as they are looking to carry out early-stage tests.
Initially, Luminar will produce a 10,000 unit run which should be ready for delivery sometimes later this year. LiDARs are Light Detection and Ranging systems. They are one of the most important parts of an autonomous vehicle as they sort of act like its “eyes”.
More exactly, such devices are capable of sensing any approaching obstacles, be it a tree, another car, or a human or animal. As such, they also help the vehicle avoid an encounter with them.
Luminar’s new LiDAR system was reportedly built from scratch. This would imply that they company developed and engineered its own chips, lasers, receivers, packages, and every other part involved in such a system. Most other LiDARs reportedly incorporate off-the-shelf components.
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Rebecca McGhee
Rebecca McGhee is a valuable contributor for several publications and online platforms. Having graduates with a degree in Computer Science, her interest lies mostly in this area. Yet, she finds any tech-related topic or scientific topic is a challenge worth meeting. She enjoys turning her own research projects in worthy contributions that reach the large public. And mostly, she is grateful for all the feedback she receives from readers, as she believes it aids her in permanently improving her style of writing, beyond the scientific style she is accustomed to.
