Shanghai-based lidar supplier Hesai says they have agreed a deal to provide their AT128 automotive-grade high-performance lidar sensors for a new car being built by Changan Automobile. Based around VCSEL (vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser) arrays emitting at 905 nm, the AT128 units are claimed to have a range of 200 metres for 10-per-cent-reflective objects.
Changan is said to be transforming themselves into a leading provider of electric vehicles, and revealed details of their new SDA smart car design earlier this year. And Hesai says their new manufacturing centre for automotive production will start operations this year, with a planned capacity of more than 1 million units and volume shipments of the AT128 for existing design-wins slated to begin before the end of the year.
The AT128 is an automotive grade, long-range main lidar designed for ADAS in series production vehicles. In September, Hesai became the first lidar company to ever achieve a monthly delivery of over 10,000 units. It has 128 integrated laser channels, reaching a point frequency of over 1.53 million per second. Its ultra-high-resolution scanning provides vehicles with 3D perception capabilities in real time.