Intelligent Infrastructure, Smart Cities to be Biggest Lidar Markets in Coming Years: Velodyne CEO

The use of LiDAR in infrastructure systems and 3D mapping will be central to making digital cities a reality. LiDAR solutions for 3D mapping, surveying, and modeling indoor and outdoor environments are valuable to companies and municipalities for city planning,” says Dr. Ted Tewksbury, CEO, Velodyne, in an exclusive interview with Geospatial World.

By Anusuya Datta

COVID appears to have accelerated the ongoing trend towards digitalization. What is it that you see as the way ahead in the direction of digital?

In 2021, supply chain operations faced immense strain from high demand and massive disruptions caused by increasing port congestion and manufacturing delays. Logistics and warehouse processes were pushed to fulfill orders faster and more efficiently. This quickly led to more companies benefitting from the adoption of Industry 4.0 automation initiatives, which can be advanced with implementation of Lidar. McKinsey found that Industry 4.0 helped 94 percent of companies keep their operations running during the COVID crisis. These initiatives haven’t slowed down, and we foresee continued growth in the digital economy.

Velodyne LiDAR sensing technologies, such as our Velarray M1600 and Puck sensors, are deployed throughout the supply chain ecosystem to enhance industrial processes and maintain continuity of goods and services. From autonomous mobile robots improving the logistical flow of goods through warehouses and airports, to ground shipping and last mile delivery, our LiDAR applications are powering supply chain operations while lowering operating costs, improving efficiency, and creating safer working environments.

For example, on the factory floor, Twinny is utilizing Velodyne’s LiDAR sensors as they develop and manufacture indoor autonomous driving robots suitable for large warehouses and logistics centers worldwide. Velodyne also provides LiDAR technology for other autonomous mobile robot (AMR) warehouse applications, including MOV.AI, and ANYbotics.

In industrial environments, customers like EasyMile have integrated Velodyne’s LiDAR sensors to power airport ground support tractors to transport baggage and cargo autonomously to and from planes and throughout facilities at any time, day, or night. Safe, effective materials transit is critical to airlines for the protection and handling of goods while maintaining tight flight schedules and operations. Additionally, adding LiDAR technology to applications in seaports and marine operations improves reliability and precision, while also reducing costs and risk.

On the road, whether powering a last-mile delivery robot or enhancing long-haul trucks, LiDAR contributes to the safe and efficient transfer of goods. Ford Otosan implemented Velodyne’s LiDAR sensors to address edge-cases for driving situations, including curvy roads, potholes, intersections, on/off ramps, residential areas and roadways with unclear lane markings. These important edge-cases can help enable safer, more productive delivery. Customers such as Gatik incorporate our LiDAR sensors to help deliver goods safely and efficiently between micro-fulfilment centers, dark stores and retail locations – a logistics flow known as the middle mile. Gatik fulfills revenue-generating autonomous orders daily for multiple Fortune 500 customers in the US and Canada, including Walmart, reducing customer costs and keeping delivery times short.

Climate change and extreme weather events are two dire challenges that the world currently faces. How can innovative technologies such as LiDAR and digitalization of infrastructure industry help us build resilient and sustainable infrastructure?

There is a growing commitment from governments worldwide to rebuild outdated transportation infrastructure and modernize systems to address our most pressing problems, including mitigation of climate events. The transportation sector is a major contributor to pollution, and accounts for one fifth of carbon dioxide emissions globally. With passage of comprehensive infrastructure legislation in the United States last year, we will see increasing change domestically in the adoption of solutions that promote sustainability. This includes innovations to reduce congestion and advance electric vehicles (EVs). As we look at a world with digitized and connected vehicles and infrastructure, we know LiDAR will play a critical role in addressing these challenges.

Velodyne’s Intelligent Infrastructure Solution (IIS), which combines LiDAR sensors with Bluecity’s powerful AI software, is a breakthrough and first-of-its-kind solution that creates a real-time 3D map of roads and intersections by reliably collecting data in any lighting or weather condition — supporting 24/7, 365 days a year operation, while also protecting people’s privacy.

According to the INRIX 2020 Global Traffic Scorecard, in the United States alone, congestion — often due to transportation infrastructure inefficiency — cost USD 305 billion in 2020. Velodyne’s IIS can predict, diagnose and address road challenges by providing cities with better data, reducing pollution and improving the sustainability of the transportation ecosystem.

What is the quantum of advancements that we have made towards autonomous vehicles and mapping Digital Cities in recent times?

There has been tremendous work done by industry in the development of technologies like LiDAR to support advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous vehicles (AVs), as well as the infrastructure that will support integration of connected vehicles. While we cannot predict when fully self-driving vehicles will be deployed at scale, updates to performance standards and testing will be critical to progress.

Recent action by the US Administration to take steps towards updating these standards in the country and announcing rulemakings on pedestrian automatic emergency braking, is a much-needed step in the right direction. We offer an affordable LiDAR-based pedestrian automatic emergency braking (PAEB) solution that delivers superior performance in all conditions, a decisive advantage over radar + camera-based systems.

We believe that lifesaving ADAS features, like automatic emergency braking (PAEB), should be ubiquitous and not come at a premium. We are actively working with government agencies to pass legislation requiring LiDAR in ADAS and Automated Vehicles, as well as mandating testing under low-light conditions where LiDAR can help protect vulnerable road users. The public and private sectors need to work together to ensure the safety of these systems, while also not hampering innovation.

The use of LiDAR in infrastructure systems and 3D mapping will be central to making digital cities a reality. Velodyne’s 3D mapping, surveying and modeling indoor and outdoor environments are valuable to companies and municipalities for city planning. LiDAR allows companies an efficient and cost-effective way to map large areas in hours, rather than weeks.

While LiDAR is making these autonomous solutions a reality, their ability to move and communicate is network dependent. These systems need continuous vehicle to vehicle (V2V) mobile connectivity to function effectively. Intermittent breaks in connectivity, even if they occur only momentarily, can cause autonomous systems to stop running altogether.

What is the biggest challenge you see in the LiDAR market over the next few years, and in which sector does it have a lot of room to grow?

LiDAR has the power to dramatically improve safety, sustainability and efficiency of a world in motion. We have an opportunity to make LiDAR ubiquitous by making it more affordable and easier to incorporate by anyone, for any application.

We believe that the deployment of autonomous vehicles will still take time, but that is not reducing the demand for LiDAR. This growth is driven by industrial and robotics, intelligent infrastructure, and smart cities, which are positioned to be the largest and the fastest growing markets in the next several years. We are already working with a large number of customers integrating LiDAR for robotics and last-mile delivery purposes.

We see municipalities as a large opportunity for growth within the LiDAR industry. We currently have IIS installed in cities such as Austin, Boca Raton, New Jersey, San Jose and Toronto to help these municipalities better plan and manage traffic flow. IIS presents many advantages over traditional camera monitoring systems.

For instance, when it comes to the use of LiDAR sensors in comparison to camera + radar systems, LiDAR sensors can better map the 3D environment around them while protecting privacy and equity.

LiDAR has the capability of mapping distances, LiDAR can also withstand harsh weather conditions and still “see” and identify objects to prevent incidents.

What are some challenges faced by the LiDAR industry?

Cost is a big challenge for the LiDAR industry. Our goal is to make LiDAR ubiquitous and to do that, the cost needs to go down Within industrial, robotics, IIS and Smart Cities, we are deploying high performance sensors at an affordable price point to accelerate mass adoption. This work will be critical for LiDAR deployment in the automotive industry, where we believe that existing offerings are inherently too costly for mainstream adoption.

While autonomous vehicles are a way out, it is important for the automotive industry and OEMs to examine power efficiency of the technologies they are incorporating. LiDAR provides important advantages to connected and automated vehicles. LiDAR sensors support precise, reliable navigation for real-time autonomous operation in urban and highway environments. They can detect and track vehicles, pedestrians, and other obstructions to help autonomous vehicles safely navigate. This includes traveling night and day in a range of road conditions such as rain, sleet, and snow.

As part of your NextGen Automation Program, Velodyne is partnering with universities and educational institutions. What is one thing that has surprised you about the partnerships, and do you plan to expand the program?

We are continuously inspired by the work coming out of these schools. For example, we participated in the SAE AutoDrive challenge, where student teams demonstrated their advancements transforming a Chevrolet Bolt EV – equipped with Velodyne Lidar — into a vehicle with self-driving capabilities.

Velodyne believes in the power of partnering with universities and educational institutions to expand research and innovation of LiDAR technology for the next generation.

Through our Next Gen Automation Program, students benefit from technical support, inclusion into Velodyne’s rich ecosystem of partners, and promotion of student activities and accomplishments. We will continue to broaden the scope of this program because are committed to working with student engineers who are using our LiDAR products to create innovations for a safer world in motion.

What are the top technology trends emerging and how they are impacting the geospatial landscape from the Velodyne perspective?

Our mission is to create smart technology for a world in motion in use cases including in geospatial and mapping, as well as last mile delivery, industrial and robotics, manufacturing and infrastructure.

LiDAR technology is applicable across so many industries, improving safety, efficiency, and sustainability, and offering privacy and equity benefits. We continue to drive toward mass market adoption, including in the geospatial market, industrial and robotics and smart city industries. The use-cases and applications for LiDAR are broader than what most camera and radar technology can offer due to LiDAR’s ability to work in all weather and lightening conditions, capture object trajectory, and produce high resolution 3D imaging, even in inaccessible environments.

V2X Communication: The digitized vehicle and infrastructure technology market is expanding. Consequently, we will see more opportunities for the integration of vehicle-to-everything communications (V2X) in which data and analytics provided by LiDAR can advance the deployment of these intelligent transportation systems. Vehicle manufacturers can leverage these analytics in combination with their on-board safety systems to reduce accident probability and improve efficiency of the transportation system.

Additionally, when LiDAR hardware is embedded with software, it is easier for customers to deploy products and obtain actionable perception information to guide safe autonomous decision making.

3D Mapping: LiDAR continues to attract new users and new applications. This is especially true in the engineering and 3D modeling sectors. Velodyne Lidar works with companies to provide highly accurate 3D models of environments for mobile mapping.

Our deep and long-lasting relationships with customers allow us to work with them at the system level to understand their pain points and solve their needs. We want to ensure that the products we are developing are addressing real world needs.