UK-based Delphi Automotive has signed a commercial partnership agreement with Innoviz Technologies, a leading Israeli company that is developing solid-state lidar technology for the mass commercialization of autonomous vehicles (AVs).
Innoviz’s proprietary lidar sensing solutions will be integrated into Delphi’s systems to provide auto makers with a comprehensive portfolio of autonomous driving technologies. To further support the commercial partnership, Delphi has also made a minority investment in Innoviz.
Founded in January 2016 by former members of the elite technological unit of the Israeli Defense Forces, Innoviz’s staff has expertise in the fields of electro-optics, computer vision, MEMS design and signal processing. The company’s lidar technology uses a solid-state design to provide longer-range scanning performance and superior object detection and accuracy capabilities. Long range lidar is critical for enabling SAE Level 3 and Level 4 AVs to travel at high speeds, as these vehicles will need to identify objects at far distances and in great detail in order to operate safely.
The company’s InnovizOne and InnovizPro, lidar products offer solid-state designs that uses proprietary technology to deliver superior performance at the cost and size required for mass market adoption. Both products offer high-definition intelligent 3D sensing to provide an accurate and reliable scan of a vehicle’s surroundings.
The devices are designed to deliver superior performance to existing lidar systems, even in challenging environments such as night-time, bright sunlight, and varying weather conditions. The company’s solid-state design introduces a device without mechanical moving parts unlike traditional lidar units, enabling Innoviz to offer a smaller product footprint at a mass market price.
“Along with radar and vision technology, lidar is an essential component to our automated driving perception suite,” said Glen De Vos, Delphi’s senior vice president and chief technology officer. “Innoviz is developing a product that provides a high performance intelligent sensing solution to help advance automated driving technology.”
Omer Keilaf, co-founder and CEO of Innoviz, noted, “Delphi shares our vision for making vehicles smarter and safer. By challenging the conventions of lidar design, we were able to develop a lidar solution that delivers superior performance at a reasonable price and in a much smaller footprint; three factors that are required to help autonomous driving achieve mass commercialization.”
