Luminar integrates lidar into roofline with Blade concept |
When some people think of lidar sensors, they might think of large, bulky, rotating hardware mounted to the roof of a vehicle.
But Luminar Technologies Inc. has a different design vision.
Luminar introduced Blade, a concept for a next-generation lidar system that can be built into the structure of a vehicle, during the company's inaugural Studio Day in New York City on Tuesday.
It's less obvious, less obtrusive and plays into Luminar's idea for a more aesthetically pleasing and practical integration of autonomous technology "across robotaxis, trucking and passenger cars," the company said.
Luminar formulated the concept with design studio NewDealDesign.
"To create the best overall car design and the best user experience, autonomous technology must be engineered and designed hand-in-hand from the ground up," Jason Wojack, senior vice president of product development at Luminar, said in a statement. "Focusing on form and function at not just the lidar level but the vehicle level has enabled Luminar to spearhead the design integration of autonomous technology faster than any historical design breakthrough in automotive history."
Luminar said its lidar, Iris, was designed to be "cleanly integrated into the vehicle roofline, offering the optimal vantage point for enabling autonomy while maintaining the aerodynamics that auto enthusiasts crave."
Iris will begin series production on the Volvo XC90 next year. SAIC, Daimler Trucks North America and Pony.ai are also expected to integrate Luminar's Iris.
The company demonstrated two concepts, including a robotaxi design, for which the Blade would run across the crown of the vehicle, incorporating four Luminar lidar sensors. Luminar also showed a trucking design with a three-sensor configuration for optimized long-range vision. The autonomous design integration would also offer a retrofitting application.
—Alexa St. John
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