At CES 2020, many exhibitors showcased their innovative applications incorporating LiDAR technology, including autonomous vehicles, robot cleaning service, autonomous food delivering service and more. Several LiDAR companies also introduced their new products or announced new partnerships with other industry players at the event.

SOS LAB, a LiDAR startup for self-driving cars, reported that it has signed a LiDAR collaboration memorandum of understanding (MOU) with ON Semiconductor. They aim to advance the development and commercialization of LiDAR technology for the automotive and smart factory markets. SOS LAB provides high-power VCSEL light sources and Metalens optical technology while ON Semiconductor offers high-resolution SPAD Arrays used for sensing single photons making the combination ideal for a solid-state LiDAR time-of-flight application. The two companies plan to mass produce LiDAR integrated headlamps and bumpers in two to three years for cars.

(Image: SOS LAB)

China-based LiDAR technology builder Hesai announced its US$ 173 million series C founding at CES 2020. The funding was led by Bosch and Lightspeed with other co-investors including ON Semiconductor, Qiming Venture Partners, and more. The company also unveiled its new 64-channel LiDAR featuring a 104.2° (±52.1°) by 360° Field of View (FOV) for self-driving sensing solutions.

(Image: Hesai)

Pioneer Smart Sensing Innovations (PSSI) also demonstrated its 3D-LiDAR sensor co-developed with Canon at CES 2020. PSSI has also exhibited a mass production model of 3D-LiDAR sensor (wavelength 905nm), which utilizes Micro Electric Memory Systems (MEMS) mirror-based scanning method and Canon’s optical technologies. The new LiDAR sensor is a 1550nm wavelength sensor model featuring long distance measurement of 500 meters with the addition of transceiver technologies developed by SK Telecom.

(Image: Pioneer)