- Luminar’s lidar sensors beam out laser light and detect how it bounces back to help self-driving vehicles gain a three-dimensional view of the road
- It added that for the past five years, Luminar has worked with OptoGration to secure a custom laser light detector that keeps the volume of pricey materials to a mininum
As per a report by Reuters, Luminar Technologies Inc, a maker of lidar sensors for self-driving cars, said that it has acquired a small chipmaker that makes a key part of its sensor. Luminar said it has agreed to purchase Wilmington, Massachusetts-based OptoGration Inc, with the deal expected to close in the third quarter. Luminar did not disclose the terms of the deal but said it would not have material impact on Luminar’s cash position or share count.
The report added that Luminar’s lidar sensors beam out laser light and detect how it bounces back to help self-driving vehicles gain a three-dimensional view of the road. Luminar has a deal with Volvo Cars to start putting its sensors on the roads in driver-assistance systems next year.
Luminar’s device uses a laser that operates at a wavelength of 1,550-nanometers, which it has said gives it the ability to detect objects further than most other lidars that use a 905-nanometer wavelength laser.
It added that for the past five years, Luminar has worked with OptoGration to secure a custom laser light detector that keeps the volume of pricey materials to a mininum. Jason Eichenholz, co-founder and chief technology officer for Luminar, said the company will be acquiring OptoGration’s team and factory, which has the ability to produce 1 million detectors per year and can scale up to 10 million.
