By Jane Lanhee Lee
Self-driving tech firm Pony.ai, backed by Toyota Motor Corp, mentioned on Monday its next-generation know-how for robotaxis might be utilizing lidars made by Luminar Applied sciences, Inc.
Lidars are laser-based sensors which might be a key element to many autonomous automobile applied sciences and assist them understand the atmosphere across the automobiles.
James Peng, Pony.ai CEO mentioned the startup selected Luminar’s Iris lidar for its efficiency but additionally as it may be built-in into the automotive higher than conventional lidars.
“It is truly beginning to blur the road between what you see as a really nicely designed passenger automobile and the monstrosities which have been on prime of among the AV take a look at automobiles,” mentioned Austin Russell, founder and CEO of Luminar.
Luminar’s Iris lidar is about 10 centimeters excessive and Peng mentioned 4 of them might be mounted on prime of the automotive for 360 diploma views. He mentioned Pony.ai is aiming for automotive-grade manufacturing of autonomous fleets in 2023 globally.
Pony.ai has Robotaxi providers in Guangzhou, Shanghai, Beijing, and Irvine and Fremont in California with a fleet of about 200 autonomous automobiles. Late final 12 months, the startup raised $267 million at a valuation of $5.3 billion.
Along with Pony.ai, Luminar earlier this 12 months introduced a partnership with SAIC Motor Corp, China’s largest automaker and a cope with the self-driving software program subsidiary of Volvo Automobiles, owned by China’s Geely Vehicle Holdings .
Luminar, based in 2012, is one in all a number of U.S. lidar producers previously 12 months to go public through reverse mergers with blank-check corporations.
