Luminar starts shipping lidar for Volvo EX90 — while readying its next-gen sensor

Luminar’s caller Halo lidar sensor is expected to beryllium little than 1 inch thick. | Image: Luminar

Luminar is shipping retired orders of its lidar sensors to Volvo arsenic the automaker is preparing to commencement accumulation of its EX90 electrical vehicles, the institution said today. Volvo volition usage the laser sensor to alteration information and self-driving features successful the EX90, making it the “first planetary user conveyance to standardize this technology,” Luminar notes successful a property release.

The quality comes during a “Luminar Day” webcast, wherever the institution is besides announcing a caller next-generation “Halo” lidar sensor — 1 that’s designed for mainstream adoption, including successful affordable vehicles, astatine fractional the outgo of its existent system.

The bid of lidar sensors to Volvo, which Luminar notes is worthy $4 billion, comes aft Volvo announced past twelvemonth that it had to push accumulation commencement of the EX90 to aboriginal 2024. At the time, the automaker cited the request for further “software investigating and development.” At the time, Luminar stated Volvo’s hold was unrelated to its sensors.

Luminar’s lidar tech sits connected apical of the conveyance similar a visor and uses lasers to make a 3D situation astir it. The placement allows the sensor to benignant of blend into the roofline; however, the company’s existent “Iris” sensors are inactive a spot evident erstwhile looking astatine its spouse vehicles similar the EX90 and caller Mercedes Benz racing vehicles.

With Luminar’s caller Halo sensor, the institution is shrinking the wide size of the portion truthful it adds little than 1 inch of tallness to the extortion of cars, weighs nether 1 kilogram, and lone uses astir 10 watts of power.

Halo volition usage 4 next-generation chips from Luminar Semiconductor Inc., which it says volition alteration 4 times show improvements, 3 times the simplification successful size, and doubly the thermal ratio compared to Iris. Luminar is moving guardant with 1550nm lidars, stating it wants to “avoid aboriginal show and powerfulness depletion issues associated with 905nm.”

Luminar says it is besides continuing information investigating and validation of its lidar technology. The institution worked with Swiss Re to measurement however lidar tin trim the severity of accidents and recovered that its tech resulted successful astir 27 percent simplification successful accidents and astir 40 percent simplification successful severity compared to the top-performing vehicles with camera and radar-based systems.

Luminar is besides partnering with physics simulator bundle institution Applied Institution to behaviour virtual investigating and validation of collected lidar data, which tin trim validation costs compared to real-world testing.