Aeva Technologies announced on Monday its agreement to manufacture sensors for Nikon’s industrial machines, aimed at detecting minuscule imperfections in objects such as vehicles on production lines. Based in Mountain View, California, Aeva specializes in lidar sensors, commonly used in semi-autonomous vehicles for creating a 3D view of the environment. Although Aeva primarily serves the automotive industry, its technology also applies to other sectors requiring 3D scanning. In 2021, Aeva began collaborating with Nikon to enhance the Japanese company’s industrial equipment.
Nikon’s current scanning systems, designed to identify tiny flaws to enhance manufacturing quality, are bulky, slow, and costly, limiting their use in full-scale manufacturing inspections. Aeva’s sensors are expected to reduce the size and cost of these systems, allowing for more comprehensive vehicle inspections. Soroush Salehian, Aeva’s CEO, expressed the ambition to increase the proportion of vehicles inspected, aligning with some automakers’ vision of achieving 100% inspection rates.
Aeva anticipates starting sensor deliveries to Nikon in the following year, with Nikon’s Aeva-equipped products projected to enter the market by 2025. Salehian did not disclose the expected number of sensors to be shipped or the anticipated revenue from the deal with Nikon. He indicated that although the shipment volumes would be less than those for the automotive sector, the industrial sensors would be priced significantly higher due to their greater precision.
