The battle over which sensor technology will win out in the autonomous vehicle market continues to play out. Innovusion Inc., a developer of hybrid Solid State LiDAR systems, is making a strong case for LiDAR with its new Cheetah system. Based on its rotating polygon optical architecture, the technology combines proprietary detector electronics, advanced optics and sophisticated software algorithms.
The Cheetah system provides a detection range of 200 meters on objects with 10% reflectivity and clearly detects objects out to 280 meters, thus achieving a high degree of notification that in turn creates more reaction time for the vehicle. The system achieves picture-like imaging due to its high number of vertical and horizontal scanning lines covering the entire field of view. Every object is represented by a dense point cloud that optimizes safety. The point cloud is particularly suited for fusing with camera data in the pixel level. The Cheetah platform is suited for use as the main perception sensor for Level 3 and higher autonomous vehicles, thus reducing the need for multiple LiDAR systems.
Key specifications of the Cheetah system include a screen resolution of 300 vertical pixels, while simultaneously maintaining a frame rate of 10 Hz. It provides 0.13-degree resolution over its 40-degree vertical FOV, and 0.14-degree resolution over its 100-degree horizontal FOV. Power consumption is under 40 W. Single unit price is $35,000 for small quantities.