Manufacturers of lidar — short for light detection and ranging — are attempting to do more with less as the autonomous vehicle industry gains traction.
Cepton (NASDAQ: CPTN), one of the few publicly traded lidar companies in the United States, introduced the Vista-X120 Plus on Tuesday, calling it “the world’s slimmest software definable, top-end automotive lidar for real-time adaptive 3D perception.”
In other words, the system can be controlled or configured remotely via software, is suitable for cars and vans, and employs sensors to detect near and far obstacles.
The real differentiator of the Vista-X120 Plus is its size. With a height of only 30 millimeters, the system’s hardware component can be installed on a vehicle during the OEM phase or later without affecting its appearance.
In addition, compared to Cepton’s Vista-X90 lidar, the Vista-X120 Plus processes data at five times the rate and has a 30-degree wider field of view — all while being half the height. Operators can also use software to change the sensor’s region of interest (ROI) from 120 to 25 degrees.
“The upgraded scanning mechanism of the Vista-X120 Plus enables extremely dense point clouds while simplifying software algorithms for efficient sensor calibration and dynamic perception,” said Mark McCord, Cepton’s CTO and co-founder. “Our proprietary ASIC [application-specific integrated circuit] chip enables optimal signal processing to maximize lidar efficiency and performance further. The adjustable ROI allows the vehicle perception to better focus on potential hazards in various driving scenarios.”
Another key feature of the Vista-X120 Plus is its low energy consumption, which allows it to “see” up to 650 feet away at 10% reflectivity, a measure of how well the sensor detects objects that reflect little light. In other words, only 10% of the light emitted by the sensor must be reflected by the object for it to be “seen.”
“Despite its significantly increased performance and flexibility, the Vista-X120 Plus consumes less than 18 W of power,” McCord added.
Cepton’s target price point for volume production of the Vista-X120 Plus is less than $500. The company claims that mass market adoption will be facilitated when combined with the system’s range, flexibility, and off-the-shelf appeal for OEMs.
“The Vista-X120 Plus aims to improve vehicle safety across all levels of automation by utilizing OEM-validated building blocks,” said Jun Pei, co-founder, and CEO. “This game-changing lidar is poised to quickly enter the mass market and enable the precision required for autonomous driving at the level of safety that every consumer deserves.”
Cepton will hold live demonstrations of the Vista-X120 Plus from Thursday to Sunday at CES 2023 in Las Vegas. The system won the Innovation Award in the Vehicle Tech & Advanced Mobility category at the event.
