Semiconductor supplier Intel has been making serious efforts in leading-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence and computer vision the past few years. Some of their efforts are reflected in the company’s RealSense technology, which are enabling “smart” devices that can see, understand, interact with and learn from their environments.
Intel has expanded its RealSense product line with its L515 LiDAR, which the company claims is the world’s smallest and most power-efficient, high-resolution LiDAR that captures millions of depth points per second. The camera provides high-quality performance and millimeter accuracy to products requiring vision capabilities.
According to Intel, its RealSense LiDAR technology differs from other technologies in that it uses an advanced, miniaturized micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) mirror to scan the scene. This method enables the reduction of the laser pulse power, thus achieving small, power-efficient, high-resolution LiDAR.
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The Intel RealSense LiDAR camera L515 provides consistently high accuracy over the supported range of 0.25 to 9 meters. It also provides over 23 million accurate depth pixels per second, with a depth resolution of 1024 x 768 at 30 frames per second. The camera has an internal vision processor, motion blur artifact reduction and short photon-to-depth latency.
Intel designed the L515 to consume less than 3.5 W power, enabling easy mounting on handheld devices with the flexibility of long battery life. Always ready to use, the camera retains its depth accuracy throughout its lifespan without the need for calibration.
According to Intel, one application for the camera is the logistics industry, which can benefit from the L515’s high resolution and full scene perception. Companies looking for inventory management automation will benefit from precise volumetric measurement of products, enabling an accurate state of inventory at all times. Other applications include 3D scanning, healthcare, retail, and robotics.
The camera also features an accelerometer, gyroscope and FHD RGB video camera. It uses the same open source Intel RealSense SDK 2.0 as the entire portfolio of Intel RealSense devices.
The Intel RealSense LiDAR camera L515 is priced at $349.