AEye say their new 4Sight™ M sensor sets a new standard for reliability. In testing completed at an independent test facility, the 4Sight M scan block surpassed automotive qualification for both shock and vibration. The tst results showed a 4Sight sensor can sustain mechanical shock of over 50G, random vibration of over 12Grms (5–2000 Hz), and sustained vibration of over 3G.
AEye cofounder and CEO Luis Dussan says “The lidar industry has struggled with attaining solid-state performance, especially when trying to achieve sufficiently high resolution at long range. MEMS-based systems were seen as a potential solution, but the inability of FMCW or other TOF systems to effectively reduce the size of or harden their MEMS continues to be a stumbling block.”
AEye have also announced the availability of 4Sight, a new range of 1550-nm lidar vision systems which are the fifth-generation sensor from AEye, and it’s based on their iDAR™ platform with one laser, one MEMS arrangement, one receiver, and one SOC. AEye’s MEMS has a mirror less than 1 mm across. Combined with a 1550-nm amplifiable laser and sophisticated receiver, the small mirrors are produced in volume using standard processes. The size of the mirror in a MEMS largely determines its reliability. Larger mirrors also have larger inertia, generating up to 600 times greater torque from shock and vibration events. And AEye say larger mirrors preclude fast, quasi-static movement for agile scanning, which is key to intelligent and reliable artificial perception.