Lidar maker Cepton Technologies reports it has won the industry’s largest contract for lidar to date, with a contract from a “Detroit-based global automotive OEM”. The company says it expect to become the first lidar company in the world to go mass-market across multiple vehicle platforms by 2023 as a consequence.

The Detroit-based OEM is expected to deploy Cepton lidars in its next generation of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) across multiple vehicle classes and models – not just luxury cars. 

The win opens up the potential for an industry-first, mass-market adoption of lidar technology for automotive ADAS, Cepton said in a statement. It says anticipated deployment in consumer vehicles will begin in 2023.

Cepton secured the series production win in partnership with Koito Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Koito is an automotive lighting Tier 1 supplier that is both a Cepton partner and investor. 

With this partnership, Cepton has provided a non-exclusive license to Koito to manufacture a version of Cepton’s MMT-based Vista-X90 automotive grade lidar, using key components and technologies from Cepton. Substantial progress has been made in the Vista®-X90 product development over the past 18 months since the series production award.

According to Cepton, the multiple OEM vehicle models already awarded as part of this series production programme make this win the largest in the industry to-date. The deployment of Cepton lidars in those vehicle models, as well as anticipated models to be added in the coming years at the Detroit-based OEM, is expected to significantly exceed that in any of the other publicly announced lidar series production programmes. 

Cepton’s patented MMT lidars employ a rotation-free, mirror-less and frictionless technology designed to balance performance, reliability and cost, three key factors to delivering mass-market ADAS lidar. 

Cepton’s MMT lidars also feature a combination of compact size and low power consumption to maximise flexibility for vehicle integration, enabling various placement options such as in the fascia, in headlamps, on the roof and behind windshields. 

“We are thrilled to work with an automotive OEM that is not just considered one of the global leaders in the industry but also a recognized pioneer and leader in ADAS and autonomous driving,” said Cepton CEO and co-founder, Dr Jun Pei. “We are honoured to have been chosen to help fulfil their long-term vision for vehicle safety and autonomy. We are also gratified to partner with Koito and leverage their manufacturing and quality leadership in this path-breaking series production programme, which I believe will set the standard for future ADAS lidar adoption.”

“We founded Cepton in 2016 with an emphasis on ADAS and centered our lidar innovation around the goal of making lidar an essential automotive safety sensor in everyday passenger cars. We are now focused on delivering a safer and more enjoyable driving experience to consumers within the next few years,” said Dr Pei.