Lidar on a Chip Enters the Fast Lane: Sensors for Self-Driving Cars and Robots will be Tiny, Reliable, and Affordable

AUTO ACCIDENTS ARE RESPONSIBLE for 1.3 million deaths annually, according to the World Health Organization. That's like losing the city of Prague each year. A switch to self-driving cars and trucks with various types of electronic sensors and sophisticated computers at the helm could save countless lives. But getting this promising technology into people's hands has been difficult, despite massive research investments and considerable technical progress. • So when will self-driving cars really come to a driveway near you? The answer depends in part on whether such cars require a type of sensor called lidar, short for “light detection and ranging.” Most groups developing autonomous vehicles see lidar as a critical part of the sensor suite required for safe operation, because it allows a detailed 3D map of the vehicle's environment to be constructed with much more fidelity than can be done with cameras.