Environment detection Lidar technology: A booster for automated driving

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Automated driving and thus sensor technology has come to a standstill. Opsys Tech aims to improve the performance and economic feasibility of sensor technology with its solid-state lidar sensors, thereby giving renewed momentum to automated environment recognition.

*Hartmut Hammer has been writing about automotive technology and mobility as a journalist for B2B magazines for more than two decades.

The Lidar technology is currently sailing in rough waters. Traditional Lidar sensors with rotating mirrors still cost a high three-digit euro amount. Automated driving from Level 3 onwards is dependent on Lidar sensors, but after the hype has entered the phase of disillusionment. Therefore, the number of units sold is lagging behind the forecasts and the field of Lidar sensor suppliers—see Bosch's withdrawal, as well as ZF at Ibeo is consolidating. In addition, there is the 4D imaging radar technology as a more cost-effective and technically potentially dangerous competitor in object detection.

A way out of the difficult market environment could be solid-state lidar technology. Because they are fully integrated in electronic modules, these sensors do not require moving parts. This makes them less complex, smaller, more cost-effective and more robust than previous lidar sensors. The noise production and heat emissions are also said to be significantly lower.

Clear vision in focus

However: "Currently there are no really functioning solid-state lidar sensors on the market, because they are simply not mature enough," claimed Geoffrey Bouquot, former Chief Technology Officer and Executive Vice President Strategy of the Valeo Group, at the IAA 2023 in a conversation with the sister magazine 'Automotive Industry' (German language).

Among others, the Israeli start-up Opsys Tech wants to change this situation. The company has teamed up with several partners to accelerate the industrialization of solid-state technology. Since 2023, they have been working with the Wideye product line of Japanese glass specialist AGC on integrating the Lidar sensors in a module behind the windshield and aim to achieve series production readiness by 2024. They see the position in the area of the interior mirror as ideal for capturing the vehicle's forward field and expect synergy effects from integrating multiple sensor technologies into a compact cluster. For example, they have already combined two separate Lidar modules - specifically high and low resolution sensors for long and short range detection - with multiple cameras, a rain sensor, and an RFID antenna in a space-saving manner.

A major challenge, according to Opsys and Wideye, is the deflection of the laser beams when passing through the windshield. Opsys relies on a precise beam pattern to compensate for potential distortions caused by glass. In addition, the solid-state lidar sensor can compensate for minor irregularities through calibration. According to the Israeli company, this makes this technology the first sensor system that can counteract aging processes. Together with the robustness due to the absence of moving components, this should significantly increase the sensor's service life. Among other things, thanks to the compensation measures, the Lidar sensor remains sufficiently precise according to Opsys, even at a windshield angle of 70 degrees, to detect small debris on the road according to the required specifications. According to the manufacturer, Wideye's glass, which is transparent for near-infrared, is another prerequisite for the seamless installation of optical sensors such as lidar and cameras in the windshield area.

Pool resources

Furthermore, the Chinese supplier Hasco and Opsys entered into a partnership in 2023 with the aim of advancing the development and production of solid-state lidar sensors for Hasco's ADAS systems. Another goal was to start serial production of the lidar sensors mainly for ADAS solutions in the Chinese market in 2024. Hasco has been developing suitable software for object detection and perception of the sensor data from the Opsys lidar sensor since 2021.

Opsys also entered into another partnership in 2024 with Vueron, a South Korean provider of AI-based perception software. Together, they are developing a software stack that is also specifically optimized for the Opsys solid-state lidar sensor. The "Vue-One" software is supposed to determine relevant motion patterns and object information from the sensor information and then process it for ADAS functions.

Adapted to the environment

The Opsys lidar sensor resembles a camera and operates in principle like a 3D camera. The system consists of a central light detector with two emitters on either side and "sees" up to 300 m away. Equipped with Vertical Cavity Surface-Emitting Lasers (VCSEL) and Single-Photon-Avalanche-Diode chips (SPAD), the sensor can scan a field of view of 110 degrees horizontally and 13 degrees vertically without moving parts. The detection range is 200 m for a target with a ten percent reflectivity and a detection probability of over 90 percent. Each transmitter scans the entire field of view at 1000 frames per second, with the system computing an average of 30 frames per second from the data. Thanks to the high number of sampling processes per point, possible interference errors can be avoided by forming averages, thus improving the detection probability.

Opsys deliberately chose wavelengths in the 900 nm range for the lidar sensors. Although a wavelength of up to 1550 nm is allowed to achieve the highest possible optical performance and thus range of the sensors. However, a disadvantage is that there is considerable absorption of the lidar sensor's optical power in the 1550 nm spectrum during rain, fog or snow. "In extreme cases, the damping is in the range of 15 to 20 db, that is, with a damping of 20 db, the transmitted power is damped by 99 percent," says Eitan Gertel, Executive Chairman of Opsys Technologies. "Our system with a wavelength of 900 nm has only negligible water absorption and is minimally affected by weather conditions."

Fits in well

The complete technical concept and laser beams with slightly different wavelengths allow, according to Eitan Gertel, the trouble-free combination of several sensors into a lidar system. Because the individual sensors are very small—two sensors fit on the base of a credit card—their integration into the headlights or in the roof module behind the windscreen is possible. Eitan Gertel: "Our solid-state technology is therefore suitable for different vehicle types in different application areas."

Further pluses: The Opsys lidar sensor has a low power consumption and operates over the entire temperature range without external heating or cooling. Since the solid-state scanning sensor does not have to interpret the raw data like other sensors before evaluating them, the system provides original data that is also valid for other tasks.

By dispensing with moving parts, the lidar sensor from Opsys can be manufactured in fully automated processes. Even the final alignment is done in an automated process based on software and does not require movement of the physical components. Therefore, according to Eitan Gertel, about 90 % of the manufacturing costs are for material and only about ten percent for personnel.  (se)

This article was first published on our sister brand 'Next Mobility' (German language), Vogel Communications Group

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