Lumotive’s Mini-LiDAR Early Access Program to accelerate adoption of tiny lidar in smartphones, other devices
Lumotive (Seattle, WA), which produces solid-state lidar systems, says that it is accepting applications for its “Mini-LiDAR Early Access Program” (EAP) from participants who want to deploy very small-form-factor lidar in smartphones, augmented reality (AR) products, industrial automation systems, and near-range automotive systems such as for blind-spot detection and in-cabin driver monitoring systems. The EAP program provides access to Lumotive’s software-defined beam-steering technology nine months before general availability, giving participants a jump-start on building these features into their lidar-enabled products.
Lumotive says the Mini-LiDAR EAP provides participants with:
--An evaluation kit based upon Lumotive’s M20 prototype LiDAR module
--Early access to performance test data
--Software upgrades and engineering support
--Joint requirements analysis and custom product planning
--Input on Lumotive’s future product roadmap
“Demand for tiny, inexpensive lidar systems is exploding, driven by requirements in smartphones, robotics, and other size- and cost-constrained applications,” says Lumotive's co-founder and CEO, William Colleran. The company’s scalable lidar 3D-sensing products are based on Lumotive’s Liquid Crystal Metasurfaces (LCMs) and CMOS manufacturing, notes Colleran. “The Lumotive Mini-LiDAR EAP puts that technology in the hands of customers who want a significant jump-start bringing their LiDAR-enabled products to market, and we gain valuable insights into product requirements to drive our ongoing technology development,” he adds.
The Mini-LiDAR EAP program is open to participants in the following markets:
--Consumer: Smartphone manufacturers and technology developers
--Industrial: Companies pursuing robotics, autonomous guided vehicles, and factory logistics
--Automotive: OEMs, tier-1 suppliers, and autonomous-vehicle companies deploying near-range lidar systems around the periphery of vehicles and for in-cabin applications
In addition to providing the M20 prototype to early adopters via the Mini-LiDAR EAP, Lumotive is developing several other small-form-factor lidar systems. The company’s M20, M30, and related products in the Mini-series address near-range (typically 15 m and below) applications with Lidar modules the size of a golf ball, says Lumotive. The U30 lidar, which is part of Lumotive’s Micro-series, will support near-range sensing of approximately 10 m in bright sunlight with up to 640 x 480 (VGA) resolution in a module that is a few millimeters on a side (the size of a typical smartphone camera module).
Lumotive’s product platforme is based on the company’s patented solid-state beam-steering technology to meet the specific range, field-of-view, resolution and form-factor needs for target applications. Inertia-free LCMs enable more compact and reliable LiDAR systems than legacy mechanical approaches, says Lumotive. The novel beam-steering technology can be scaled from low power, small form-factor systems for smartphones to large-aperture, high performance systems that have greater range and more efficient implementation compared to MEMS-based systems, according to Lumotive. The systems’ random-access beam-steering enables what lumotive says is the industry’s first software-defined LiDAR with region-of-interest scanning, object tracking and advanced perception capabilities.
Lumotive showcased its lidar technology with a successful demonstration of the company’s X10 prototype at the CES trade show in Las Vegas in January of 2020 and started shipping its second generation X20 platform to customers in late 2020. The company has received industry acclaim with inclusion in Laser Focus World’s “Top 20 Photonics Technologies for 2019,” Built In Seattle’s “Best Small Companies to Work For in 2020 and 2021,” JMP Securities Efficient Fifty lists of “the most interesting private companies in industrial and energy technology” for both 2020 and 2021 and EE Times’ “Silicon 100: Emerging Startups to Watch.”
Interested parties can learn more about Lumotive’s Mini-LiDAR EAP at www.lumotive.com/eap.
John Wallace | Senior Technical Editor (1998-2022)
John Wallace was with Laser Focus World for nearly 25 years, retiring in late June 2022. He obtained a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering and physics at Rutgers University and a master's in optical engineering at the University of Rochester. Before becoming an editor, John worked as an engineer at RCA, Exxon, Eastman Kodak, and GCA Corporation.