2023 Shanghai Auto Show: Innovusion’s High-Performance LiDAR Takes the Stage

At this year’s Shanghai Auto Show, leading high-performance LiDAR company Innovusion made its debut at the Shanghai National Exhibition and Convention Center’s booth #6A12. This exhibition marked Innovusion’s first appearance, showcasing cutting-edge technological advancements. The company presented its groundbreaking Falcon platform, an image-level long-range LiDAR system, the next-generation Robin platform, and the all-new perception software platform OmniVidi. With an immersive booth setup, the industry and consumers were able to get up close to the “eyes” of smart mobility, exploring a fresh “vision” of LiDAR perception and witnessing the previously unseen.

Falcon Leads the High-Performance LiDAR Market, Serving Both Passenger and Commercial Vehicles

At the Innovusion booth, the image-level long-range LiDAR platform, Falcon, took center stage. As passenger vehicles are transitioning from Level 2 to Level 3 autonomy, Falcon stands out as a benchmark product in the high-performance LiDAR landscape. Offering exceptional performance, point cloud quality, and durability, Falcon utilizes a 1550nm laser wavelength, achieving a maximum detection range of 500 meters and a standard detection range of 250 meters at 10% reflectivity. With a highest angular resolution of 0.05°x0.05° and a detection probability exceeding 90% at the nominal detection distance, it can clearly and stably identify various objects beyond the scope of conventional LiDAR. This provides more reaction time for decision-making and execution, making Falcon the ultimate choice for primary visual LiDAR in the current autonomous driving industry.

In March 2022, the NIO ET7, equipped with Falcon LiDAR, was officially launched, marking the first large-scale production and deployment of high-performance LiDAR in passenger vehicles. Today, Falcon has become a standard component of the NIO Aquila Super Sensing System, being deployed in the NIO ET7, ES7, and ET5 models, entering the market on a larger scale. Thanks to its exceptional performance, Innovusion secured the top position with a 36.2% market share in the 2022 Chinese passenger vehicle LiDAR front-end supply list published by “High-Tech Intelligent Automotive.”

Beyond its success in the passenger vehicle market, Falcon has also made strides in the commercial vehicle sector. At this year’s auto show, Innovusion signed a strategic contract with the emerging intelligent new energy truck manufacturer DeepWay, aiming to empower high-speed logistics and freight transportation scenarios with high-performance LiDAR, ushering in a new era of intelligent freight transport.

Compared to passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles operate in complex environments, entail higher risks and intensities, and have a natural demand for autonomous driving solutions. They require high-performance LiDAR for ample safety redundancy. Furthermore, the harsh operating conditions of commercial vehicles demand higher durability from LiDAR systems. Falcon has successfully passed rigorous automotive tests, including extreme conditions such as 85°C high-temperature baking, -40°C rapid freezing, and impact tests of up to 50g. This ensures outstanding reliability and durability under extreme working conditions, aligning with the demands of commercial vehicle scenarios.

To date, Innovusion has strategically partnered with multiple commercial vehicle companies, including TuSimple, EaseControl Autonomous, Waytous Technologies, Zhiji Tech, and DeepWay, jointly driving the scalable application of high-performance LiDAR in the commercial logistics field. This further solidifies Falcon’s position as a core player in the commercial vehicle market.

Innovusion’s Image-Level Long-Range LiDAR Platform: Falcon

The Next-Generation Robin: Benchmark Platform for 905nm LiDAR

At the exhibition booth, the next-generation Robin platform and product series also garnered significant attention. The next-generation Robin adopts an entirely new platform development approach, featuring modular design and technological sharing to enable product customization and cater to diverse customer needs.

Robin-W: High-Performance Medium-Range Wide-Angle LiDAR

Shadow filling and lateral perception are essential for advanced driver assistance systems. When vehicles autonomously change lanes, enter or exit ramps, or make left or right turns, the reaction time to avoid potential dangers is extremely short. Only by detecting a sufficient range can pre-emptive braking be achieved. Calculations show that in typical scenarios such as high-speed lane changes, unprotected turns in urban areas, and vehicle exits, the detection range for the rear and side directions must be at least 70 meters to meet safety requirements.

Robin-W, as Innovusion’s next-generation high-performance medium-range wide-angle LiDAR platform, features a large field of view of 120° (H) × 70° (V) and a standard detection range of 70 meters at 10% reflectivity. This range is twice that of similar products in the market, addressing blind spots and lateral perception needs. It offers support for high-speed lane changes and comfortable braking. With a high resolution of 0.1° (H) × 0.4° (V), it delivers image-level point cloud data, providing exceptional perception results. This high resolution ensures greater safety redundancy for advanced driver assistance and autonomous driving functions.

Innovusion’s High-Performance Medium-Range Wide-Angle LiDAR: Robin-W

Robin-E: Image-Level Long-Range Front-View LiDAR

Robin-E, part of Innovusion’s next-generation product platform, is an image-level long-range front-view LiDAR that achieves the highest standards in front-view LiDAR detection. With a standard detection range of 180 meters at 10% reflectivity and an ultra-wide field of view of 120°, Robin-E offers a resolution of 0.1° (H) × 0.2° (V), providing rich perception details. This enhances the safety and comfort of vehicle-assisted driving. Furthermore, the Robin-E LiDAR adopts a platform design concept, featuring a compact and exquisite overall design. Weighing around 450 grams, with power consumption of less than 9 watts, and noise level below 20 dB(A), it is suitable for mass production and offers stability and reliability.

Innovusion’s Image-Level Long-Range Front-View LiDAR: Robin-E

Innovusion is committed to the in-depth exploration and research of cutting-edge optoelectronic technology. Through platform-based development and modular design, the company continuously brings high-performance products to the industry, specifically designed for mass production in compliance with automotive regulations. With a combination of low power consumption, compact body design, and details such as curved surface-designed optical windows, the products can be seamlessly integrated into various positions, including the front windshield, achieving a perfect fit with the vehicle’s structure and exterior appearance.

Currently, Innovusion has established strategic partnerships with leading global automotive glass providers, including Fuyao Group and AGC subsidiary Wideye. This collaboration offers aesthetically pleasing and practical installation solutions for LiDAR, providing more choices for advanced intelligent driving. The initial plan has successfully integrated the LiDAR with the front windshield, resulting in less than 10% detection performance attenuation, ultra-low power consumption, and an exceptionally quiet experience.

OmniVidi Simplifies LiDAR Applications

For many users today, LiDAR presents a relatively high barrier to entry, with its hardware capabilities often not fully tapped. Innovusion has consistently aimed to provide the industry with forward-looking LiDAR products coupled with intelligent perception software, offering complete solutions. Their latest development, the OmniVidi software platform, comprises two major components: the Perception Middleware and the Toolchain. The Perception Middleware translates raw LiDAR data into actionable perception results using model algorithms. The Toolchain encompasses powerful LiDAR data visualization, data annotation, and model training tools, forming a closed loop for data and algorithm iteration, facilitating swift perception model development.

Leveraging the OmniVidi software platform, Innovusion has introduced perception software for various applications such as advanced driver assistance/autonomous driving, smart urban traffic management, intelligent highway construction, holographic digital weight control, rail transit security, and industrial automation. This empowers intelligent driving to transition from basic environment perception to environment cognition, creating more efficient and safer smart traffic environments to meet customer demands for reliability, stability, and user-friendliness.

OmniVidi acts as a bridge between perception hardware and application scenarios. It enables seasoned players to unlock the full potential of LiDAR capabilities for diverse applications while assisting newcomers in quickly grasping LiDAR’s capabilities for easy integration.

As a globally positioned high-tech company, Innovusion has been deeply engaged in the market for many years and has led the high-performance LiDAR market. Today, the domestic market for LiDAR applications is gaining momentum, and Innovusion, armed with its world-leading core technology, continues to expand a “new vision” across the entire domain of high-performance LiDAR perception systems, enabling safer, smarter, and more enjoyable living experiences.