By ATN Editorial Team
AEye, Inc. (NASDAQ: LIDR), a global leader in adaptive, high-performance lidar solutions, today announced 4Sight+, the newest addition to its 4Sight™ Intelligent Sensing product line that delivers industry-leading path-planning, obstacle avoidance, and prediction capabilities. AEye leveraged its software-defined architecture to improve the sensor’s range by 20% and increase spatial resolution by 400%, extending its high speed small obstacle detection capabilities, while enabling the same hardware to address hazardous vehicle cut-ins – providing an all-in-one solution for automotive OEMs.
“These new capabilities were achieved entirely through firmware and software changes, using new algorithms and calibration techniques; this is just the tip of the iceberg of what we can do with software,” said Matt Fisch, Chief Executive Officer at AEye. “AEye is laser-focused on continuous product improvement, and we will leverage our software-defined architecture to deliver on that, and to adapt quickly to a changing market. Automakers are on a fast-track to deliver intuitive, reliable ADAS services that improve safety. Our architecture allows us to match their timeline, and brings OEMs and our partners, like Continental, one step closer to achieving their mission of Vision Zero – zero fatalities, injuries, and accidents.”
The data fidelity and range upgrades in the 4Sight+ LiDAR bring an increased level of dependability, performance, and adaptability from AEye to help OEMs eliminate phantom braking, improve existing ADAS features, and safely enable hands-free driving at highway speeds.
The “Software-Defined” Advantage
4Sight+ takes advantage of the platform’s modular, bistatic system that can reconfigure lidar performance on-the-fly and add new capabilities over-the-air. Powered by a tiny MEMS device that allows for ultra-fast, yet robust movements, the 4Sight Intelligent Sensing Platform is inherently designed to be highly programmable to meet performance requirements for both urban and highway driving using a single platform.
The 4Sight+ LiDAR from AEye improves prediction capabilities by tracking vulnerable road users – including pedestrians, cyclists, and other vehicles – at up to 300 meters. It improves vehicle ride quality and reaction time by detecting small objects, like bricks and tires, at up to 200 meters, and it helps with vehicle path planning by identifying road surfaces, such as cement and asphalt, at up to 100 meters, including in direct sunlight and low light environments. These advantages allow AEye to enable predictive safety systems for a smoother, more comfortable hands-free driving experience at 80+ mph, without requiring driver intervention.
The advantages of a software-defined sensor allow the same hardware to address close-up vehicle cut-ins, long-range views, and everything in between. OEMs are able to leverage AEye’s scanning agility to completely reconfigure the lidar’s performance instantaneously, using cues from other sensors in the vehicle, such as speed or GPS location to activate uniquely defined modes of operation for parking, urban, and highway environments.
By optimizing lidar performance based on driving conditions, the sensor continues to achieve high-performance, while operating at the lowest power required. This also allows for flexibility in form factors – an important consideration for seamless vehicle integration as OEMs pursue electrification.
“AEye is laser-focused on continuous product improvement, and we will leverage our software-defined architecture to deliver on that, and to adapt quickly to a changing market. Automakers are on a fast-track to deliver intuitive, reliable ADAS services that improve safety. Our architecture allows us to match their timeline, and brings OEMs and our partners, like Continental, one step closer to achieving their mission of Vision Zero – zero fatalities, injuries, and accidents.”
