Ouster’s new lidar doubles the range of previous sensors

Ouster Inc. has announced a series of digital lidar sensors that use a new chip and offer twice the range of the previous generation.

The San Francisco company says its REV7 sensor has a maximum range of over 400 yards and can detect objects up to 400 meters away.

This distance is achieved using the company’s new proprietary L3 chip, which can compute about 10 trillion photons per second.

Ouster CEO Angus Pacala said: car news.

This puts the REV7 sensor on par with self-driving car developers’ lidar sensors. Algo AI, also has a range of about 400 yards. However, he is below the range of AEye’s lidar, detecting vehicles more than half a mile away. in independent testing.

backward compatibility

Howard Abbey, senior analyst at technology research firm SBD Automotive, said that in addition to the improved range, the Ouster lidar sensor’s backward compatibility makes it unique and competitive.

Ouster customers can upgrade their sensors with the REV5 lidar, which is available in the same form factor, Pakara said.

“One of the keys to our success is that every product generation is backward compatible with the previous generation,” he said.

Backwards compatibility and ease of upgrade weren’t priorities for other lidar manufacturers, Abbey said.

“The focus is on reducing size, increasing robustness, or switching to solid-state technology,” he said.

Abbey said this was due to the high cost and low production volumes of early lidar systems. Suppliers have also worked to miniaturize sensors to better fit in passenger vehicles.

Autonomous delivery and other markets are now large and cost-conscious, so backward compatibility between product generations creates a competitive advantage, Abbey said.

“This reflects Ouster’s understanding and focus on serving customers who want cost-effective long-term partnerships, rather than one-off relationships,” he said.

Pakara said the new lidar sensors will initially be installed in self-driving trucks and shuttles, as well as warehouse robots and forklifts. Ouster works with self-driving trucking company torque robotics and automated shuttle service providers may mobility And Perone Robotics.

The REV7 sensor is orderable and the first units are expected to ship to customers in the second half of 2022.

95% automotive grade

The REV7 technology could be incorporated into Ouster’s Digital Flash series of Chronos chip-based lidar sensors for passenger cars, the company said. The REV7 sensor uses approximately 95% automotive grade components.

A new OSDome housing using REV7 sensor technology is also available alongside Ouster’s existing OS0, OS1, and OS2 products.

Abbey said the OSDome is better suited for robo-taxis and commercial vehicle applications because it can be mounted more discreetly on the vehicle.

The OSDome sensor has 128 channels of vertical resolution and uses a fisheye lens to provide 180 degrees of sensing, giving it a wider field of view than Ouster’s other sensors. This gives “floor-to-ceiling vertical visibility,” Ouster said.

Abbey said the REV7 sensor will extend the competitive edge of traditional mechanically scanning lidars and help develop the next generation of solid-state lidars that the company is reportedly working on.

“Ouster continues to innovate by appealing to different types of customers with a cost-effective and flexible digital architecture.