Unsense Technology's 500-meter range laser radar has achieved mass production, with a 360° viewing angle of more than 500 meters

It is reported that the mechanical laser radar with a wavelength of 905nm, 16 vertical lines and a horizontal viewing angle of 360° independently developed by Weigan Technology has been mass-produced. Its detection distance for low-reflectivity targets can reach 400 meters, and the farthest detection distance exceeds 500 meters. The single selling price is 25,000 to 50,000 yuan, making it the most cost-effective product in this field with the same parameters.

It is understood that the two mechanical laser radar models of Weigan Technology are SF-16-200 and SF-16-400. In August this year, Weigan Technology will start selling them at a price of 25,000 yuan per unit.

Among them, the detection distance of SF-16-400 is 400 meters when the target reflectivity is 20%, and the farthest detection distance is over 500 meters, which is the world's longest 360° three-dimensional laser radar. For mechanical laser radars with 16 vertical lines and a full viewing angle of 360°, the detection range specification of similar products at home and abroad is 100 meters at low reflectivity, and the price is over 25,000 yuan. Compared with similar competing products in the above market, at the same price, the performance of the laser radar SF-16-200 of Unsensed has been doubled.

Figure 1: 3D real-time point cloud across a diameter of 1000 meters measured by SF-16-400, product measurement screenshot Source: MEMS

Figure 2: Actual road conditions measured by SF-16-400

Yan Weizheng, founder and CEO of Ungan Technology, said, "Every increase of 1 meter in detection distance and 1° in field of view angle costs money. But we did not use expensive optical devices to increase the detection range. Instead, we adopted self-developed physical layer algorithms and drew on physical layer signal processing technologies that have been commercialized in the fields of optical communications and radar." His technical team used Huawei's methodology and IPD (Integrated Product Development) process for developing high-end optical modules to advance the development of lidar.

Both products of Weigan Technology meet the Class 1 laser safety level requirements. According to the IEC standard, laser equipment is divided into Class 1, Class 2, Class 3A, Class 3B and Class 4, a total of 5 levels. Class 1 laser equipment will not exceed the MPE value (maximum permissible exposure) for eyes and skin under any conditions. It is a safe device under "foreseeable working conditions" with a power of less than 0.4mW. Compared with the millimeter-wave radar used by Tesla , lidar has more practical performance requirements, but the price is its insurmountable slot.

Velodyne's 16-line full-view mechanical laser radar "PUCK", once the industry leader in laser radar, has a detection range of 100 meters at low reflectivity and a price of RMB 30,000. The SF-16-200 released by Microsensor is priced at less than RMB 30,000, and its detection range is doubled, that is, it reaches 200 meters at low reflectivity.

In addition, the SF-16-400 can detect low-reflectivity targets up to 400 meters away, and the longest detection distance is over 500 meters. The hardware of the SF-16-400 and SF-16-200 is the same. If you choose to upgrade the software from SF-16-200 to the specifications of SF-16-400, the upgrade fee is 25,000 yuan.

As an incremental supplier and industry enabler of the next generation of autonomous driving LiDAR, the new radar released by Unsense Technology will bring more accurate radar detection technology, better product services and more competitive price advantages to the industry. With the further development of the global "autonomous driving" industry, LiDAR, as an important detection technology equipment, will also usher in huge opportunities and challenges.

In addition, Unsense Technology will mass produce 32-line 360-degree mechanical LiDAR with a maximum detection range of more than 500 meters by the end of this year. In addition, Unsense Technology's self-developed physical layer algorithm is applicable to various LiDAR systems such as mechanical, MEMS galvanometer, flash and phased array, meeting the needs of improving detection performance in different scenarios.