Research Overview

With the increasing adoption of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous driving, there has been a corresponding increase in the need for sensors used in such applications. This study examines the use of light detection and ranging (LiDAR) sensors in the automotive industry. The LiDAR is a sensing system that will become an integral part of autonomously driven vehicles. It is a novel technology that uses light beams to perceive the surroundings and classify objects within a range with higher accuracy and precision than traditional sensors, even in low light and adverse weather conditions. LiDAR systems have been around for more than a decade. However, the automotive industry has not explored this technology before because the cost, integration, and packaging presented challenges. Solid-state LiDAR has broken these barriers to the adoption of LiDAR technology in the automotive industry by offering relatively low-cost LiDAR sensors that are both reliable and less voluminous. LiDAR adoption is expected to increase towards the second half of the decade, owing to developments in the technology that will enable original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to adopt the sensor and achieve economies of scale.