Low-cost lidars are soon to arrive. Robosense announced their new MX lidar platform will enter mass production in mid-2025 with a price of about USD $200. MX has an adjustable ROI (region of interest), with reach range of up to 200 meters, a 120° × 25° FoV, and resolution as fine as 0.1 × 0.1°. The ultimate target of leading lidar suppliers is to get the price down to C¥1,000 ($140) as soon as possible. These specifications cannot support L3 or L4, and we need to see the real added value compared to the next generations of cameras and 4D radars.
Low-cost lidars benefit from higher volumes—Robosense shipped 116,000 units in Q1-2024—lidar on chip designs, and intense competition among Chinese suppliers. Robosense and Hesai are still losing money, as described in this Newsletter.
Also in this edition, you will find a special report on the new NTHSA rule related to pedestrian AEB in night conditions up to 100 km/h. We will see if low-cost lidar can be a viable option for meeting the requirements.
And we bring you the preliminary program of the Lidar Deep Dive III in Detroit.
DVN-Lidar Events—save the dates:
- EAC Lidar Tech Expo in Suzhou (21-22 June,2024), DVN is co-host with Enmore
- Deep Dive 3 workshop in Detroit (12 September,2024)
- Lidar Conference in Wiesbaden (18-19 November,2024)
We’re ever so glad you’re here with us in the DVN-Lidar community. Enjoy this 27th newsletter!
All best,
Alain Servel
DVN LIDAR ADVISOR