Ouster and Xilinx partner to bring cost-effective LiDAR to autonomous vehicles
There is a debate in the auto industry on what sensors to use for Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems (ADAS) up through fully autonomous vehicle systems, which is also referred to as SAE levels 2 through 5. There are a variety of sensors including ultrasonic, cameras, RADAR (Radio Detection And Ranging), and LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) that can be used for sensing the dynamic environment around the vehicle and each has its advantages and disadvantages. As a result, most automotive equipment suppliers and vehicle makes are using or considering several different sensor arrays consisting of some combination of the different sensor technologies. LiDAR offers some of the highest accuracy and coverage, but faces size, cost, power, and reliability issues. One LiDAR startup, Ouster, has been working to address many of these issues and has partnered with semiconductor company Xilinx to develop a complete solution that will be applicable not only for automotive, but potentially thousands of other applications.