“True” autonomous driving, a little closer to launch: what’s missing

The third generation of Valeo lidar, scheduled for debut in 2024, promises a twelve times higher resolution, a tripling of the range and a much wider viewing angle.

Valeo, a pioneer in the marketing of lidar technology, is developing a more advanced version of its laser-emitting security systems for its debut in 2024, which promises a 12-fold increase in resolution, a tripling of the range and a much wider viewing angle. wide that can see details that the human eye, cameras and radar cannot see.

The lidar range, called the Valeo Scala, is part of a major acceleration that Valeo has until 2030.

The first generation, the Scala 1, debuted with the Legend Hybrid EX sedan that Honda started renting in Japan last year. Scale 2 enters the new Mercedes-Benz S-Class, which received international approval for Level 3 automation in December last year. This system, included under Mercedes’ Drive Pilot system, arrives in Germany this year. The company also plans to seek regulatory approval in California and Nevada.

Scale 3, the version planned for 2024, will allow autonomous emergency maneuvers at speeds of up to 129 km / h, says Valeo.

The supplier says that Generation 3 Scale will identify objects approximately 201 meters in front or more. The system can track vehicles that are not visible and can even measure the density of raindrops to calculate the proper braking distance.

A lot of companies are joining the technology race

Valeo manufactures both hardware and software for the systems, producing lidar at its Wemding plant in Germany, where 300 engineers work on the technology.

The company predicts that almost a third of all new premium vehicles will be able to drive Level 3 automatically in 2030. Moreover, it estimates that the global lidar market will exceed $ 50 billion by then.

Nissan says it is teaming up with Luminar Technologies to develop a lidar system that will enable high-speed automatic emergency driving. Nissan wants to launch this technology in 2025, as part of a plan to equip almost every new vehicle with lidar by 2030.

Bosch, Velodyne, Veoneer, Mobileye and Innoviz, backed by SoftBank, are also in the field. Continental in Germany provided a lidar system for the Honda Legend, where it works in tandem with Valeo, as a spare for each other.

Valeo wants to package its driver assistance systems into custom technology sets for automakers in a plug-and-play model.

The sets will integrate the safety systems inside the vehicle and will connect with the surrounding infrastructure.