Baraja has unveiled Spectrum-Scan™ LiDAR. Spectrum-Scan uses prism-like optics and shifting wavelengths of light to create powerful eyes for autonomous vehicles, giving those vehicles a clarity of vision, a requirement for safe, fully-autonomous driving.
Spectrum-Scan LiDAR (light detection and ranging) represents an entirely new category of LiDAR, pairing a wavelength-tunable laser with prism-like optics. With a flexible, modular design that simplifies integration into the vehicle, Baraja LiDAR allows autonomous vehicles to smartly control and adjust scan patterns in real-time to adapt to complex, dynamic road conditions.
Traditional LiDAR scans the roadway by physically rotating lasers or using moving mirrors to steer the light using microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). These moving parts have unresolved reliability problems in vehicles due to constant vibration and shock. Delicate components fail or require costly over-engineering to house and protect.
These legacy scanning methods inject cost, reliability and performance issues, and contribute to the unwieldy appearance and vehicle integration difficulties of existing LiDAR solutions. These limitations have become a serious bottleneck to the mass deployment of self-driving cars.
Baraja’s compact, modular “eyes” connect via fiber optics and deliver the high level of performance demanded by the autonomous vehicle industry using off-the-shelf components—like optical-grade silica-glass found in every smartphone camera and telecom-grade lasers that power the internet. These components maximize automotive reliability and the ability to mass produce the technology for fleets while enabling long-term cost benefits.
In developing Spectrum-Scan LiDAR, Baraja designed for the end goal: building LiDAR that can realistically be integrated into vehicles. By addressing the need for high-volume scalability, manufacturability and reliability, Baraja has guided the product development with a design-for-manufacture (DFM) approach.
Baraja is headquartered in Sydney, Australia, with offices in San Francisco and China. The company is currently expanding throughout Asia and Europe. Baraja is backed by funding from Sequoia China, Blackbird and other sought-after investors.
Source: Baraja
