Lidar manufacturer Velodyne announced it acquired Mapper.ai to improve development of its Vella software platform.
Velodyne
Velodyne is considered a stalwart of the automotive-grade lidar industry. Its technology originally helped Google map the world’s streets, and its mechanical and solid-state lidar systems are currently at the core of many autonomous vehicles on the road.
But as more companies enter the crowded light detection and sensing market, Velodyne is angling to defend its lead. Earlier this year it launched Vella, a software solution that enables car makers to use its compact solid-state lidar, Velarray, rather than the cameras and radar to support advanced driver-assistance safety (ADAS) features, such as pedestrian and bicycle avoidance, lane keeping assistance, adaptive cruise control, and automatic emergency braking. To speed development of Vella’s safety solutions, the company announced this week that it acquired Mapper.ai, a mapping and localization software company.
Lidar is considered by many to be superior to camera and radar technology at detecting objects in the dark, at long distances, and in all weather conditions. The company believes that the many of the accidents caused by driver error can be avoided if vehicles are equipped with forward facing lidar sensors, which provide accurate measurement of objects on the road. Coupling detection capability with GPS information could improve safety even more.
“The goal in the automotive market is to make transportation safer,” said Anand Gopalan, CTO at Velodyne. “Mapper technology gives us access to some key algorithmic elements and accelerates our development timeline. Together, our sensors and software will allow powerful lidar-based safety solutions to be available on every vehicle.”
In addition to passenger vehicles, the company states that it plans to add Mapper technology to other emerging applications, including autonomous vehicles, last-mile delivery services, security, smart cities, smart agriculture, robotics, and unmanned aerial vehicles.
Velodyne says it has more than 250 customers, many of which are Tier 1 and Tier 2 automotive suppliers, and has sold more than 30,000 lidar units since 2007 resulting in cumulative sales of more than $500 million.
