The Prospects and Advantages of LiDAR
According to reports, the production of self-driving cars worldwide will reach 23.1 million units in 2032, and the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of the market will be as high as 58% in the next 15 years. By that time, market revenue related to the production of self-driving cars will reach US$300 billion, of which 26% will come from sensor hardware such as LiDAR, RADAR, Camera, and Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU).
Nowadays, almost every month, new ADAS (advanced driver assistance systems) or other state-of-the-art autopilot innovations are emerging in the automotive market. In addition to machine learning, Internet of Things (IoT) and cloud connectivity, LiDAR (Lidar) and RADAR (Radar) have become the hottest topics in the development of autonomous driving. However, for autopilot, it is still not clear who LiDAR and RADAR are more valuable.
The operation principle of LiDAR
The LiDAR sensor rapidly emits laser pulses (usually up to 150,000 pulses per second), and the laser signal reaches the obstacle and is reflected back to the LiDAR sensor. By measuring the time from launch to return of the laser signal, the sensor accurately calculates the distance between the sensor and the obstacle. It can also detect the exact size of the target object. LiDAR is usually used for high-resolution maps.