Aeva has unveiled Aeries II, a 4D LiDAR sensor built with automotive grade reliability. Incorporating Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) technology and a LiDAR-on-chip module design, the sensor detects the fourth dimension of instantaneous velocity for each point in addition to 3D position.

Advanced 4D Perception software provides features such as 4D Localisation and Ultra Resolution, a camera-level image with up to 20 times the resolution of legacy LiDAR sensors.

“Aeries II is a leap forward for the industry, and we believe it will play a critical role in unlocking the next wave of automation across a variety of applications from automotive, to industrial and beyond,” said Mina Rezk, Co-Founder and CTO at Aeva. “Aeva’s unique FMCW technology has inherent advantages like instant velocity detection for each point that allow us to deliver several crucial breakthroughs for our customers such as Ultra Resolution and 4D Localisation, which have not been possible until today. Aeries II provides our customers with a new level of perception to help automated vehicles and machines make safer, more intelligent decisions with higher confidence.”

The new LiDAR features a real-time camera-level image of the world with up to 1000 lines per frame with no motion blur for the static scene, providing up to 20 times the resolution of legacy time of flight LiDAR sensors.

Image segmentation enables the detection of roadway markings, drivable regions, vegetation, road barriers, as well as detecting road hazards like tyre fragments at up to twice the distance of legacy time of flight LiDAR sensors. Instant velocity data allows for high confidence detection and tracking of dynamic objects such as oncoming vehicles and other moving objects at distances up to 500 meters.

Per point velocity data enables real-time ego vehicle motion estimation with six degrees of freedom, motion compensation, and on-line sensor extrinsic calibration to aid with sensor fusion. These vehicle estimation features also enable accurate vehicle positioning and navigation without the need for additional sensors, like IMU or GPS, making autonomous navigation in GPS-denied and featureless environments like tunnels possible.

Aeva’s LiDAR-on-Chip design eliminates fiber optics and places key components including transmitters, receivers and optics onto a silicon photonics chip in a compact module. Aeva’s design, stemming from its FMCW 4D technology, enables the manufacturing process to be fully automated, allowing Aeva to scale production of Aeries II to meet the sensing and perception needs of a wide variety of autonomous applications at mass scale.

“The improved safety, efficiency, and sustainability of our autonomous trucks are good for fleets, for the public, and for the environment,” said Shawn Kerrigan, COO and Co-founder of Plus. “Adding Aeva’s 4D LiDAR to our state-of-the-art long range perception provides valuable instant velocity detection for an extra layer of redundancy. We are excited to work with Aeva to commercialise and deploy our autonomous driving technology globally.”