Sense Photonics, a breakout LiDAR company known for its solid-state FLASH architecture, has officially entered the automotive market with the introduction of Osprey, the first modular FLASH LiDAR for advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous driving. Units are priced at $3,200 and are available now for preorder.
Osprey’s arrival is a major automotive milestone, ushering in a new era of fully solid-state depth sensing. Osprey features a 75-degree vertical field of view that is also ultra-wide and dense, enabling high-resolution object detection from the street curb to the horizon. It is designed as an easily-integrated modular package, combining an automotive-qualified near-field sensor with Sense Illuminator – a proprietary distributed VCSEL laser array comprised of thousands of individual laser elements. Osprey will be used by Sense Photonics’ automotive partners to test and develop the next generation of autonomous platforms with unprecedented performance and cost.
Sense Photonics worked with a major global manufacturing services provider on design-for-manufacturability to ensure that manufacturing processes for the Osprey would meet both the quality and scalability expectations of the automotive industry.
Sense Photonics is actively working with a number of automotive partners, including an unannounced Tier 1 automotive supplier, multiple automotive OEMs and major self-driving programs, and German semiconductor manufacturer Infineon.
Osprey is the second LiDAR announcement from Sense Photonics this quarter. In October, the company announced the availability of an industrial-focused solid-state FLASH LiDAR system that raised performance standards across the industry for high-resolution data output. The company also closed a $26 million Series-A fundraising round in June.
