Japan’s Denso, a mobility supplier with its North American headquarters in Southfield, announced a partnership with Aeva, a California-based LiDAR and perception systems company, to develop next-generation sensing and perception systems.
The companies will work to advance frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) LiDAR, a solution that measures velocity, in addition to depth and reflectivity, and bring it to the mass vehicle market.
LiDAR plays a key role in automated driving and advanced driver-assistance systems. Today, most LiDAR systems use the time-of-flight method to operate, which accurately detects the distance and direction of objects by emitting pulse laser beams and measuring the time taken to receive the beams reflected by the objects.
It can detect the positions of objects around a vehicle with high resolutions and is expected to provide high-performance detection.
Aeva was founded in 2017 by former Apple engineers Soroush Salehian and Mina Rezk. The company is developing LiDAR with FMCW, which detects the moving speed of objects by emitting laser beams while measuring the changes in frequency of the beams reflected by objects.
These capabilities allow FMCW LiDAR to detect moving objects close to the vehicle such as pedestrians and bicycles with higher accuracy and speed.
The partnership also supports Denso’s goal to eliminate traffic accidents and realize freedom of mobility for all. The company is focusing on developing technologies that improve road safety such as advanced driver-assistance and automated driving systems, working with public and private partners to promote traffic accident prevention, and innovating solutions that help detect driver health and measure driving skills.
Denso is a $47.6 billion global mobility supplier that develops advanced technology and components for nearly every vehicle make and model. It has 200 facilities worldwide that produce thermal, powertrain, mobility, electrification, and electronic systems.
