Waymo (Former Google) launches LIDAR sensor with automatic driving car for other fields

We announced that Waymo , an automated driving car development company under the umbrella of Alphabet, which is spun out from Google, will begin selling its proprietary LIDAR sensor installed in an automated driving car to other fields such as robots and security systems.

Bringing 3D perimeter lidar to partners - Waymo - Medium
https://medium.com/waymo/bringing-3d-perimeter-lidar-to-partners-6beaa7d3dcc2

Waymo is sharing some of its lidar tech with other companies - Roadshow
https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/waymo-self-driving-car-lidar-laser-bear-honeycomb-sharing/

Waymo starts selling its LiDAR sensors to power robots, security systems, and more
https://mashable.com/article/waymo-sells-lidar-sensors/

Waymo was originally an automated driving car development department within Google, but in 2016 it separated and became a subsidiary of Google parent company Alphabet. We are already conducting tests to run an automated driving car without a driver at public roads in Arizona State or California State in the USA. Also, at the end of 2018, we officially launched the automatic service car dispatch service " Waymo One ", which is the leader in the automatic driving car division.

Waymo One, a dispatch service that can ride on an automatic driving car, starts service 24 hours a day - GIGAZINE

For over 10 years Waymo has developed an automatic driving car and it seems that as Waymo's automatic driving system evolves, it has noticed that Waymo's automatic driving car is not enough with commercially available sensors. Therefore, since 2011, Waymo started developing sensors for automatic driving cars in-house, and it has reached the development of sophisticated unique LIDAR sensor.

Waymo's unique LIDAR sensor called " Laser Bear Honeycomb " has a vertical field of view of 95 degrees and a horizontal field of view of 360 degrees, and it is possible to cover the sensor necessary for automatic driving car etc. with one sensor. Also, by irradiating light of different pulses , we can detect the position and shape of different objects. This will make it possible to detect the presence of people and bicycles further backwards blocked by objects in front, which will help to better understand the surrounding environment. Obviously obstacles in the vicinity of zero distance can also be detected, and it is a specification that is suitable for mounting in Waymo's automatic driving car.

Although Waymo One is certainly one of the revenue sources, Waymo's automated driving car running on public roads at the time of writing articles is about 400 at the most, and it is inordinate to call Waymo a major revenue source. Therefore, Waymo sells the LIDAR sensor equipped with an automatic driving car developed by the company and is trying to secure a revenue source besides the automatic driving car service.

Waymo said its own LIDAR sensor can bring significant technological progress even in areas other than automated driving cars such as robotics engineering, security and agricultural machinery, "said LIDAR sensor for its partners We announced it will sell. Detailed price etc. are not known, but enterprises of interest can consult Waymo from the contact form to purchase LIDAR sensor and exchange it.

Lidar - Laser Bear Honeycomb - Waymo